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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-13 Daily Xml
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Walking in Two Worlds Podcast

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Roads, Minister for Veterans Affairs) (15:15): On Wednesday 31 May 2023, I was honoured to attend a community event at Murray Bridge Library to launch a podcast commissioned by Virtual War Memorial Australia for its South Australian schools program. The production of the podcast by award-winning podcaster Megan Spencer was made possible through a grant from Virtual War Memorial Australia, which receives funds from the South Australian Department for Education.

Over 80 people attended this special Reconciliation Week event, and it was wonderful to see so many people from so many different sectors gather, and also travel, to be part of it. The Welcome to Country was supported by a smoking ceremony conducted by senior Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna elder, Uncle Major Moogy Sumner AM, who was also a speaker on the day. Other speakers included Uncle Frank Lampard OAM, who is Co-Chair of Aboriginal Veterans SA, and Aunty Verna Koolmatrie, the great-niece of Ngarrindjeri ANZAC Privates Cyril and Rufus Rigney.

There were also other family members of the Rigney brothers; elders and local community members; representatives of state and local government, including the member for Hammond as the shadow minister for veterans affairs; current and former service members of the Australian Defence Force; members of the RSL; Aboriginal Veterans SA; Reconciliation SA; local schools; and the broader community, who all made this a very special event. Our parliamentary colleague the Hon. Kyam Maher MLC, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, also provided a terrific speech for the launch via a video link.

The podcast Walking in Two Worlds explores the stories of the teenage Rigney brothers, Cyril and Rufus. We visit their homelands and hear from their Ngarrindjeri relatives firsthand, learning about the brothers' lives and wartime service. Neither of these two brave young men returned to their families from the Western Front. The impact of this loss on their families and their community, across many generations is underscored by the weaving together of the different voices and the soundscape of their land. This is a powerful and incredibly moving story and an exceptional resource for our students, the South Australian community and the nation.

I congratulate everyone associated with the Walking in Two Worlds production. It is available on the Virtual War Memorial Australia site now. I commend it to everyone in this room here today. I know that the Chairman of the Virtual War Memorial, Mr Peter Williams, and the CEO, Ms Sharyn Roberts, do a magnificent job to preserve our military history and that they have been very grateful for the support received from Department for Education to help create these podcasts as a student learning resource.

I look forward to the launch of the next audio podcast, When the War Comes Home: The Beachport Mine Tragedy, on 14 July at the Naval Association of Australia sub-branch in Port Adelaide. The launch will take place exactly 82 years, to the day, after this tragic wartime incident where a German sea mine exploded on a quiet stretch of beach just outside Beachport, which is currently in the MacKillop electoral district.

This mine killed two young Royal Australian Navy sailors, Able Seaman Thomas Todd and Able Seaman William Dunswan. Seven months before the bombing of Darwin, they were the first Australian servicemen to die on home soil as a result of enemy action in World War II. This is one of Australian military history's least known stories, but the launch of this audio podcast aims to change all that. I congratulate the Virtual War Memorial Australia on the role it plays in preserving our military history.

In closing, I am sure that I speak on behalf of the member for Hammond and the shadow minister when I say that the story that was told by Verna was so moving. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear her story about her nephews from years gone by, the journey that they made and the challenges that they persevered through, from their families from the years coming on. I am sure the member for Hammond would also indicate that. We both went up individually and expressed our great gratitude to Verna. It was an absolutely heartbreaking story.

It just brings back the tragic issues and incidents of the Second World War, the families that were impacted by it and the trauma going forward. It also highlights some of the incidents and the stories that we have not understood in our Australian history. Again, I commend this to everybody in this house.

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