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George WEST #3497

By Marg Powel & Des Crump | 10 May 2019

George West

Indigenous Australian George WEST, 5th Light Horse Regiment

George West was 27 when he volunteered to serve for his country in November 1917, it was not his first attempt to enlist; he had previously been rejected on the basis of his heritage, being 'half caste'.

Employed as a horse breaker on Prairie Station near Gladstone, he named his friend Fred Reed, also an employee of the station, as his next of kin, before he travelled south to train at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera military barracks.

Assigned to the 30th Reinforcements for the 5th Light Horse Regiment, West embarked from Sydney aboard the troopship R.M.S. Ormonde.

West became ill during the voyage to Egypt and was admitted to hospital soon after arrival, having contracted measles. Once discharged, West underwent further training, and having recovered his strength, joined his unit in the field in July 1918.

At this time the Regiment was conducting operations at Wadi Mellaha, Palestine and were shortly after engaged in the Battle of Abu Tellul, when Australian Light Horse regiments defending the Jordan Valley were attacked. They remained in the Jordan Valley, engaging retreating Ottoman troops and attacked Amman in September, where they accepted over 4,500 surrendering enemy soldiers, just prior to the armistice being signed in October.

West spent December 1918 at Semakh, a small village at the southern end of Lake Tiberius, where he was 'crimed' for swearing and awarded 14 days confined to camp.

The Light Horse Regiments were later seconded to assist with the civilian unrest that broke out in Egypt, early in 1919 and West was attached to the Luxor Relief Expedition for several weeks, before finally winding down his military days at the large camp at Kantara, on the banks of the Suez Canal, where they waited their turn to sail for home.

5th Light Horse Regiment, Suez Canal

5th Australian Light Horse Regiment embarking for Australia, June 1919. (Australian War Memorial)

In June 1919 the regiment sailed for Australia; West disembarked from H.T. Madras in August 1919 along with Sid Roberts, Frank Balser, Frederick Teare, Harry Roberts, John Cobbo, and Matthew Drury.

George West was granted an exemption from the 'Aboriginals Protection and the Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Qld)' in 1920; at that time he was working in Emerald. An 'exemption' gave West the ability to live and work in the wider community, without the restrictions of living on an Aboriginal mission.

** There are several 'George Wests' who are identified by the Chief Protector of Aborigines, and on the Queensland Exemption register 1908-1936.

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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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