Aboriginal war veteran featured on Bondi memorial

Sgt Reg Saunders in Queensland, 1943. (IMAGE: Australian War Memorial)

NATIONAL: When Captain Reginald Saunders fought at the Battle of Kapyong in 1951, he said it was the first time he felt like an Anzac.

Now the words of the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian army will feature in a new war memorial at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

The memorial, to be unveiled on Sunday morning by the North Bondi RSL Sub-Branch, features three black granite walls and a large S-shaped sculpture made of glass, stainless steel and stone.

Emblazoned on one of these walls will be the words of Captain Saunders, MBE, from when he fought at Kapyong in the Korean War on April 24, 1951.

“On Anzac eve we dug in among friends. At last I felt like an Anzac, and imagine there were 600 other like me,” the plaque will read.

Captain Saunders died in 1990.

Norbert Keough, honorary secretary of the sub-branch, said members felt it was important to pay tribute to the Indigenous community.

“There aren’t that many war memorials that we are aware of that are devoted to Indigenous memorials,” Mr Keough said.

“For the first time Reginald Saunders felt like an equal … they are powerful words.”

Mr Keough said it was hoped the memorial, which cost close to $500,000, would serve as a focal point for remembrance in Sydney.

“We have the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and we figured we really needed to have something special in Sydney.”

The sculpture will feature 20 plaques describing incidents in each war Australia has participated in, and a plaque dedicated to peacekeeping.

The two other black granite walls will include the names, ranks, and images of Australia’s Victoria Cross recipients.

A Seahawk helicopter, provided by the navy’s Fleet Air Arm, will perform a flyover during the unveiling ceremony, while bugles will sound the Last Post and Reveille.

AAP