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Yugambeh Aboriginal War MemorialPrint Page Print this page

24-November-2015
24-November-2015

Photographs supplied by Graeme Saunders

The monument commemorates indigenous servicemen who died in service or were killed in action, and was the first indigenous monument to conflict.

Yugambeh means many eagles protecting our country (mibun wallul mundindehla nalinah dhagun).  The stone was brought down from Mount Tamborine by members of the Kombumerri Corporation and locally found ochre was used in the painting.  Artist Marshall Bell from the Kamilleroi Aboriginal clan designed and painted the memorial in consultation with the Kombumerri Corporation to reflect society and to recognise the many Aborigines who fought in war.

Indigenous Australians were not, officially at least, welcome in the armed forces in either world war yet many joined and served with distinction. Many Aborigines said they experienced little or no discrimination in the services, even though they might have had to tell the enlisting officer they were Maori or Indian. At least 25 Queenslanders of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander extraction were killed in the First AIF. Some estimates put the number who served at more than 1000.

In World War Two, many indigenous Australians joined up after the entry of Japan into the war. More than 800 Torres Strait Islanders and mainlanders were members of the Torres Strait Force, formed to defend the strait as a major shipping route. These men were paid only one-third the wages of white soldiers. Thanks largely to research by Canberra academic Dr Robert Hall, back pay was made up to the survivors in the early 1980s.

Location

Address:Gold Coast Highway & Sixth Avenue, Jebbribillum Bora Park, Burleigh Heads, 4220
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -28.076711
Long: 153.445993
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:Multiple
Artist:Marshall Bell (artist)
Link:http://www.qldwarmemorials.com.au/P…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Sunday 21st April, 1991
Front Inscription

Mibun Wallal Mundindehla Njalinjah Dhagun

Yugambeh In Defence Of Our Country

This rock is placed here to honour Yugambeh men and women who served in defence of this country.

Yugambeh is the linguistic name of the Aboriginal people whose tribal region extends inland from the Logan and Nerang Rivers and includes the areas covered by all the adjacent streams and creeks.

Yugambeh family groups include Kombunerri, Wangeriburra, Migunburra, Munaljahli, Gugungin, Birinburra and others.

We honour those who served in the armed forces and those who made the supreme sacrifice.

The symbolism of this rock serves to highlight the role played by indigenous Australians in defence of this country.

Erected by Kombumerri Aboriginal Corporation for Culture with the support and assistance from the Gold Coast City Council.

April 21st 1991

Source: MA,MIV,QWMR
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au