Truth-telling inquiry highlights government inaction after past denial of land for Aboriginal veterans

Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins told the Yoorrook Justice Commission the way returning Aboriginal soldiers were treated was disgraceful. (Supplied)

A Victorian government minister has acknowledged the racist denial of land to returned Aboriginal soldiers is “a wound” that “requires healing”, and suggested the government is considering some kind of redress scheme.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission has heard evidence of the ongoing anger in Victoria’s First Nations communities about the denial of land to most Aboriginal people who fought for Australia in the First and Second World Wars.

The First People’s led truth-telling inquiry, which has all the powers of a royal commission and is investigating the impact of colonisation in Victoria, has been holding public hearings focusing on land and water injustice over the past month.

This week, Yoorrook heard from the descendent of an Aboriginal veteran, Ngarra Murray, who spoke to the inquiry about her family history and current role as co-chair of Victoria’s First People’s Assembly.

Ms Murray told the inquiry how her grandfather, Wamba Wamba elder Stewart Murray, fought for Australia in World War II, but was denied land upon his return.

“This is a photo of him at 17, he’d put his age up to go and fight in a war,” Ms Murray said.

Speaking at Yoorrook this week, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins said the way returned First Nations soldiers were treated was disgraceful.

“Many people were discriminated against and lost opportunity to become holders of that land through that scheme,” she said.

“I’m deeply, deeply saddened to read and hear about the returned soldiers, how they were treated and the ongoing effects that that’s had on their families,” she said.

Only two land parcels given to returned Aboriginal soldiers in Victoria

Since 1917, as part of a scheme established in partnership between federal and state governments, veterans who served in the First and Second World Wars were able to apply for farming land upon their return known as soldier settlement blocks.

Yoorrook heard that by 1930, the Victorian government had acquired the equivalent of one million hectares of land, distributed to thousands of returned servicemen under long-term lease arrangements.

In her submission to Yoorrook, Ms Hutchins noted that 12,000 Victorian soldiers who served in World War I were allocated allotments in the scheme.

Only two of them were Aboriginal.

While the exact number of eligible First Nations soldiers is not clear, Ms Hutchins said she thought it would be about 1,000 people across both wars.

When Ms Murray’s grandfather returned to Australia, he made a number of applications for land in Victoria and New South Wales, hoping to take up farming on his grandfather’s land.

“He was married and had kids and all he wanted to do was really own a piece of his ancestor’s land, that was stolen and exploited from his grandfather,” Ms Murray said.

“He was unsuccessful in his attempt, along with a lot of other soldiers.”

Stewart Murray went on to be heavily involved in the fight for land rights in Victoria, serving as the first chairperson of the Victorian Aboriginal Land Council.

Land from Aboriginal reserves redistributed to non-Aboriginal soldiers

Yoorrook has heard from other families of veterans who experienced similar discrimination, including from Uncle Johnny Lovett, who’s father Herbert was denied land upon his return from World War II.

The inquiry heard how the trauma was worsened when land was taken from Aboriginal reserves like Coranderrk near Healesville, and Lake Condah and redistributed to non-Aboriginal returned soldiers.

“Reallocating that to non-Aboriginal people was yet another part of the terrible injustice that happened with this scheme,” Minister Hutchins said.

Counsel assisting the commission Tony McAvoy SC noted that was effectively “another wave of dispossession” that offended and angered Aboriginal people.

Ms Murray agreed a lot of affected families felt that way and a resolution would be welcomed.

“That would relieve some of that anger and what we have inherited through the lack of respect that our Aboriginal soldiers experienced when they returned,” she said.

Commissioner: why wouldn’t you fix it?

Ms Hutchins indicated any solution to the historic injustice would need to be worked on with the federal government, considering the joint responsibility of the original scheme between the Commonwealth and states.

Commissioner Anthony North KC said Victoria could just do something about it if it wanted to.

“It just struck me that it’s an obvious injustice. A lot of it is a long time ago … why wouldn’t you fix it?” he asked Ms Hutchins.

“It just doesn’t strike me as something that should be difficult to address.”

The Yoorrook hearing was shown a letter Ms Hutchins wrote to federal counterparts in March, alerting them that a response to this issue may need to be discussed when the inquiry hands down its next recommendations in March 2025.

Echoing concerns of several commissioners frustrated with government delays on issues raised by Yoorrook during its recent hearing block, Commissioner North questioned Ms Hutchins on any unnecessary delay.

“We all know it was very wrong, like exceedingly wrong,” he said.

“When it comes to doing something productive, why wait?”

Ms Hutchins said Victoria could proceed with some sort of redress scheme without the federal government’s support and before March 2025.

But she said that does not have the full backing of the state government yet and there would need to be further consultation about what it would involve, given the handing over of any actual land was unlikely.

“I certainly feel that land allocations in this circumstance would go a long way, but I don’t know that they are a reality,” Ms Hutchins said.