Coloured Diggers single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 Coloured Diggers
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The idea came from the poem, "Coloured Diggers" by Bert Berto, written about my great uncle who served as a sapper in the Fifth Battalion in Papua New Guinea and also my grandfather who is a middleclass country white Australian who also served in World War Two in Papua New Guinea.' (Katherine Beckett).

Notes

  • '"Coloured Diggers" explores issues affecting Australian Aboriginal returned servicemen. The project was chosen knowing that, within a few years, the chance to research and document first-hand knowledge and experience of these events will be gone forever.' (Katherine Beckett)

Production Details

  • First produced at the Sidetrack Studio Theatre, November, 2008 Marrickville, with further performances at the Redfern Community Centre, Hugo Street, Redfern, March 2009 and the Museum of Contemporary Art, 5 July 2009 during NAIDOC Week.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Rectifying 'the Great Australian Silence'? Creative Representations of Australian Indigenous Second World War Service Noah Riseman , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 1 2012; (p. 35-48)

'Until the publication of Robert Hall's landmark book The Black Diggers in 1989, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were essentially 'written out' of Australia's Second World War history. Still, more than 20 years since the publication of Hall's book, Australian Indigenous participation in the war effort as servicemen and women, labourers and scouts, in wartime industries and in various other capacities, continues to be on the periphery of Australia's war history. The Second World War remains part of what WEH Stanner referred to in 1969 as 'the Great Australian Silence' of Indigenous history. Notwithstanding the lack of significant academic histories of Indigenous military history, there have been a few creative depictions of Aboriginal participation in the Second World War. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people have used creative mediums, such as poetry, short fiction, film, musical theatre and music, to portray Aboriginal Second World War service. This paper examines these creative cultural representations and how they position Australian Indigenous war service within a wider narrative of the Second World War and Indigenous history. Though the portrayals of Aboriginal service vary, the majority of creative works present the Second World War as central to Australian Indigenous history. Moreover, the creative representations depict Indigenous servicemen's hopes for a better life after the war, only to be crushed when they returned to ongoing discrimination. Even so, the creative depictions use the Second World War as an early marker of reconciliation in Australia, portraying the conflict as a time when ideals of liberty and equality overruled prejudice to unite Australia. Such a message continues to resonate, as creative representations of the Second World War contribute to contemporary understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizenship and reconciliation.' (Publication abstract)

Performer Wins Award For Coloured Diggers 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 5 November no. 438 2008; (p. 38)
Performer Wins Award For Coloured Diggers 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 5 November no. 438 2008; (p. 38)
Rectifying 'the Great Australian Silence'? Creative Representations of Australian Indigenous Second World War Service Noah Riseman , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 1 2012; (p. 35-48)

'Until the publication of Robert Hall's landmark book The Black Diggers in 1989, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were essentially 'written out' of Australia's Second World War history. Still, more than 20 years since the publication of Hall's book, Australian Indigenous participation in the war effort as servicemen and women, labourers and scouts, in wartime industries and in various other capacities, continues to be on the periphery of Australia's war history. The Second World War remains part of what WEH Stanner referred to in 1969 as 'the Great Australian Silence' of Indigenous history. Notwithstanding the lack of significant academic histories of Indigenous military history, there have been a few creative depictions of Aboriginal participation in the Second World War. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people have used creative mediums, such as poetry, short fiction, film, musical theatre and music, to portray Aboriginal Second World War service. This paper examines these creative cultural representations and how they position Australian Indigenous war service within a wider narrative of the Second World War and Indigenous history. Though the portrayals of Aboriginal service vary, the majority of creative works present the Second World War as central to Australian Indigenous history. Moreover, the creative representations depict Indigenous servicemen's hopes for a better life after the war, only to be crushed when they returned to ongoing discrimination. Even so, the creative depictions use the Second World War as an early marker of reconciliation in Australia, portraying the conflict as a time when ideals of liberty and equality overruled prejudice to unite Australia. Such a message continues to resonate, as creative representations of the Second World War contribute to contemporary understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizenship and reconciliation.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 16 Sep 2024 14:12:17
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