Cornelius ROE #5187

Indigenous Australian, Cornelius ROE, 9th & 49th Infantry Battalions

Private Cornelius 'Con' Roe's father - Charles Edwin Roe, a grazier in Miriam Vale, died in 1904 leaving his mother Maggie one of the Gooreng Gooreng people, to provide for their four children - Charles William (Bill), Gwen, Ethel and Cornelius (Con).

In January 1916 just 19 years old, Roe put his hand up to join the First AIF and fight for his country. Slightly built and a fair complexion he would not have been questioned as to his heritage.

Medically examined, his application for service was accepted in Townsville and he was initially assigned to the 16th Reinforcements for the 9th Infantry Battalion. Roe embarked from Australia, aboard the troopship Star of Victoria, in the company of several other known Indigenous enlistments: Arthur Isles #5155 and Phillip Prince #5165.

Their ship berthed at Port Said, Egypt on 5 May 1916 before proceeding to France via Marseilles, now part of the newly formed 49th Infantry Battalion, they entrained for northern France. Roe and his fellow reinforcements joined their unit in the field at Pozieres where they were in the front lines, on 18 August 1916.

Just three weeks later while in the front line at Mouquet Farm, Roe was severely wounded in the left thigh and evacuated to the 5th Southern General hospital, Portsmouth, in England. Roe spent several months recuperating and was granted two weeks leave in December before being required to report back for duty in January 1917.

Early in 1917 the 49th Battalion was engaged in the allied advance following the German retreat to the Hindenburg line. It was at Noreuil where they captured a railway cutting on the Cambrai-Arras line and where Private Roe was killed in action, on 6 April 1917.

The military authorities wrote to his mother Maggie Roe at Turkey Station and later Wadleigh, Miriam Vale to establish Roe's next of kin, and to correctly dispose of his service medals and memorials. Con Roe had made a will, which left his assets to his sister Ethel, his medals and memorials were issued to his mother.

Although Cornelius Roe has no known grave he is commemorated at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, built to honour over 10,700 Australian servicemen whose graves are not known.

Read more ...

• Service record: ROE, Cornelius Edwin
• Embarkation roll: 16th Reinf. 9th Battalion
• Australian War Memorial Roll of honour 
• AIF War Diaries: 49th Infantry Battalion
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission: memorial details
• Turkey Station Tragedy, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 13 September 1912, p.2
• One of the soldiers featured in SLQ’s HistoryPin Collection

Watch ...

• Queensland’s Indigenous Servicemen [oral history, 12 min]

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.