Commemoration of Australian Aboriginal Troopers in WW1

To be held at the restored Semakh railway station at Kinneret College.
Wednesday 25th September 2019 at 10 am. All Welcome!
This significant occasion will be officiated by the Australian Ambassador Chris Cannan, who will attend together with descendants of Aboriginal Troopers and a director of the Australian Light Horse Assn. Barry Rodgers OAM.
This occasion will get wide publicity both in Israel and Australia and will help foster understanding and pride in the part these first Australians played in WW1.
The highlight of the event is the unveiling of a statue by the Ambassador and Mark Pollard, grandson of Trooper Jack Pollard, of the 11th LHR.
The Statue was designed by Australian artist, Jennifer Marshall and depicts an Australian Aboriginal Trooper Jack Pollard of the 11th Light Horse Regiment with army issue bible in one hand tending to the grave of a fallen white Australian mate.
Aboriginal Involvement in WW1.
Over 1,000 Aboriginal men enlisted for service in WW1, doubtless many men served with great distinction in WW1 and particularly in the Light Horse Regiments. The 20th reinforcement contingent for the 11th Light Horse Regiment were nearly all Aboriginal and became known as the ‘Queensland Black Watch’.
Back home in Australia sadly these men were not treated as equals and had no voting rights, however in the military they were treated as equals and received equal pay, on the battlefield “they were us.”