Yorta Yorta man William Cooper made powerful appeals against Indigenous military service for an empire that had stolen Aboriginal land

In recent years the gatekeepers of Australian Anzac mythology have gone to lengths to embrace the stories of “black diggers”, Indigenous servicemen who fought for British empire and the commonwealth in our wars.

But Aboriginal military service cannot be fully, accurately or honestly portrayed without reference to the warriors who also resisted British invasion – and to those who later urged Indigenous people not to serve the empire and country in uniform.

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