George SPOONER #Q19932

Indigenous Australian, George Spooner, Depot

Born at Georgetown in December 1899 to Henry Spooner, George did not know of any living relatives when he volunteered to serve with the first AIF in June 1917 age 26.

Spooner enlisted in Charleville alongside another Indigenous serviceman, George Hill, together they departed via that day’s mail train for the training camp at Brisbane. Assigned to No.1 Depot Camp, at Enoggera, George Spooner was medically assessed for active service.

As a young man he had suffered a major injury to his collar-bone, which had not mended well, leaving him with a physique which did not meet the Army’s requirements. The examining officer recommended his discharge and his papers were marked ‘Character Good’ but ‘Medically Unfit’.

Spooner had been working as a drover for Charles Reardon, the head stockman for two pastoral stations, near Camooweal, prior to enlisting. He returned to the Maranoa and in 1919 was working as a stockman for Bierbank Station, near Charleville. Spooner had obtained an exemption certificate from the Aboriginals Protect Act, allowing him to live and work amongst the general community.

In 1927 he married Jane Passmore and continued to work in North Queensland as a stockman and labourer until his death in 1973, at Bowen.

Read more ...

• Service record: SPOONER, George, National Archives of Australia, Series B2455, Item ID 8093166
• COUNTRY VOLUNTEERS. The Brisbane Courier, 6 June 1917 p7
• One of the soldiers featured in SLQ’s HistoryPin Collection
• Queensland’s Indigenous Servicemen Digital Story and Oral History

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.