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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-03-29 Daily Xml
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Mack, Private Miller

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister advise the chamber on how the government has recently supported the reinterment of an Aboriginal veteran?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:29): I thank the honourable member for her question. She is very good at making herself heard, having had to put up with this lot opposite for so many years. She is very good at making herself heard, and I thank her for her excellent question and her ongoing interest in this area.

Last Friday, I had the honour of attending a full military funeral for Private Miller Mack, with all the honours deserving of a soldier who has put their life at risk for their country. It was a beautiful ceremony at Raukkan Aboriginal community in the very same church that is pictured on the Australian $50 note. I was joined by around 200 people, including the Hon. Terry Stephens, but not a single person who attended that funeral had met Private Mack and the reason for that is that Private Mack died in 1919. It has taken 98 years to give him a funeral befitting his military service and also to allow him to be buried on country with his ancestors.

Private Mack enlisted in the Army in 1914 and served in World War I as a member of the 50th Infantry Battalion, the first South Australian battalion to see active service. The 50th Battalion fought in the infamous Messines battle in 1918, which, until the Hiroshima bomb, held the dubious distinction of the biggest human-made explosion in history up until that time. In Belgium, 19 mines went off resulting in the deaths of 10,000 German troops instantly and the blast was allegedly heard in Dublin and all the way to London.

Private Mack was in the first group of soldiers to storm across following these detonations and by all accounts was an exceptionally brave soldier. Shortly thereafter, Private Mack was subjected to a particular type of gas resulting in some pretty dire side effects, including severe bronchial pneumonia. He was evacuated to London for medical treatment and sent back to Australia soon after that.

The colour of Private Mack's skin did not matter in the trenches of war, but upon his return to Australia he resumed his place in many ways as a second-class citizen, sent back to Point McLeay Mission, which is known as Raukkan today, under the instruction of the Protector of Aborigines. Private Mack's health continued to worsen. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died on 3 September 1919.

I know for many Aboriginal people who have served in our military forces, it can be a difficult decision for family to decide whether the person is buried alongside your brothers and sisters in arms or on country with thousands of generations of cultural connection. Unfortunately, at the time, Private Mack did not receive the dignity of either. Private Mack's final resting place at that stage was an unmarked pauper's grave in the West Terrace Cemetery. He lay there alone until two years ago when his family inadvertently discovered his burial place.

I want to pay tribute to the Aboriginal Veterans of South Australia Association, particularly Francis Lovegrove, for their tireless work to bring Private Mack back home. In closing, I would like to pay tribute to the military and the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, in partnership with the South Australian government, for returning Private Mack to his country.

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