Indigenous Australian, Charlie Binwater, Depot Battalion
Charles BINWATER was born at Rockhampton in 1895 and had been employed in a range of occupations, including drover, police tracker and horse breaker.
Charles attempted to enlist several times in Western NSW before being accepted at Dubbo. His attestation form indicates he was 'coloured' and in another section identified as 'full blood Aboriginal'. Despite passing the medical examination in Dubbo and being selected for the Castlereagh Macquarie Machine Gun Unit - Narromine Section, Charlie Binwater was discharged after 5 days.
His service record shows that he was classified as 'medically unfit' by reason of his Aboriginal heritage.
Service record, Charles Binwater. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, Item ID: 6518923
Read more ...
- Service record: BINWATER, Charlie
- One of the soldiers featured in SLQ’s HistoryPin Collection
- Queensland’s Indigenous Servicemen [mp4]
The information in this blog post has been researched by State Library staff and volunteers, it is based on available information at this time. If you have more information that you would like to share or further research uncovers new findings, this post will be updated.
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