ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

Reginald ‘Reg’ Saunders: Stories of Service

14 July 2022
Culture and Capability
A smiling man in army uniform shakes hands with another smiling man also in uniform. In the background is a large tent and a building.

Reg Saunders MBE served with distinction and honour during the Second World War in Africa, Europe and New Guinea but upon return to Australia, experienced discrimination along with his fellow Indigenous Australians.

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.

Find out more

Read more about Reg Saunders and his experience serving in the Second World War at DVA Anzac Portal.

Keep watching this space for more stories and videos in the Stories of Service series.