City pays tribute to Indigenous soldiers
Image: Yininmadyemi. Source: City of Sydney
By Emily Contador-Kelsall
The City of Sydney unveiled a significant public artwork in Hyde Park last week paying respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers.
Yininmadyemi is the creation of Aboriginal artist Tony Albert and consists of four seven-metre tall bullets and three fallen shells which sit near the Anzac Memorial. The sculpture represents the diggers who returned to Australia and those who lost their lives.
Director-Chair of Indigenous History at the Wollotuka Institute Professor John Maynard is one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal history experts. He said Yininmadyemi’s launch and recognition was just one part of a long campaign by many individuals and communities to ensure their ancestors’ stories were written back into Australian history.
“This is a very significant moment,” he said.
“Aboriginal service men and women have served in every military campaign that this country has taken part in. Yet for so long their courage, bravery and sacrifice was overlooked, missed and sadly erased from both memory and Australian history.”
The City of Sydney commissioned the artwork that was requested by Redfern’s Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association and the Coloured Digger Committee. The sculpture is part of the city’s Eora Journey program which hopes to address the need for better recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage in Sydney
Professor Maynard felt it was of high importance that Sydney-based Aboriginal Girramay artist Tony Albert created the tribute.
“[It] ties to the fact that his own family has over 80 years combined military service,” he said.
Mr Albert’s grandfather Eddie served in the Australian Army during World War II. His grandfather escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Germany but was then captured by Italian soldiers who lined him up with six other escaped soldiers to be executed. Eddie and three other soldiers survived.
The four standing bullets represent the soldiers who escaped execution by the Italian soldiers while the fallen shells represent the men who were executed.
The name Yininmadyemi means ‘thou didst let fall’, a name Mr Albert said acts as a reminder of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicepeople were treated differently to white soldiers after the war.
“I feel that the most powerful artworks relating to war are those that use bold and evocative images to stir strong emotions in visitors,” Mr Albert said.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore believes the artwork will become a gathering place for tributes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers and their families.
“This is a striking and powerful work that not only evokes the reality of war, but is sure to stir strong emotions to those who come and pay their respects,” she said in a statement.
Professor Maynard agreed with the Mayor’s sentiment and thought the site would bring people together to remember service men and women across all military campaigns.
