Reginald ‘Reg’ Saunders: Stories of Service

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) has produced a series of videos called Stories of Service. It commemorates the lives, experience and sacrifice of men and women who served Australia in the armed forces.

One such story is that of Reg Saunders, a Gunditjmara man who was 19 when the Second World War broke out in 1939.

At age 20, Reg Saunders walked 115 kilometres from his home in Purnim to Portland in Victoria to enlist as a Private in the Second Australian Imperial Force.

He fought in Libya and Greece and survived on the island of Crete living amongst the locals for 11 months before making it back to Australia. Reassigned to fight the Japanese in New Guinea, Reg Saunders leadership skills were recognised and he was recommended for officer training.

Reg Saunders was promoted to Lieutenant in November 1944, becoming possibly the first Aboriginal to be a commissioned officer in the Australian Army in the Second World War.

In 1950, he was again promoted to Captain, after rejoining the Army to serve in the Korean War. After his service, Reg Saunders left the Army and had a range of jobs. He ended up joining the newly formed Office of Aboriginal Affairs in 1967, and became a spokesperson for Indigenous rights. In 1971, Reg Saunders was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Learn more about Reg Saunders’ service and his experiences upon returning to Australia, where he faced discrimination, and worked tirelessly for equality and a better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.