Member
of Veterans SA and the Aboriginal Veterans of South Australia brings
Ngarrindjeri culture, knowledge and understanding to the 2019 Connecting
Spirits Community Tour.
By Francesca Atkinson
Former
schoolteacher Frank Lampard OAM of Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna descent joined
Connecting Spirits, along with his wife Sandy, in the hope they would gain
further insight into the World War One service of his cousins Private Cyril
Spurgeon Rigney and Private Rufus Gordon Rigney. For many years the Connecting
Spirits tours have held a strong connection to the Coorong towns of Meningie
and Raukkan (Pt. McLeay), the town in which the soldiers grew up and where many
of their relatives still live or have ties to today.
“I’m
enjoying retirement and among other things, Sandy and I are able to take up
opportunities to find out a little bit more about the history of Aboriginal
participation, particularly in the First World War,” Frank said. “I guess that
sort of comes out of my interest, which has almost become a passion of
Veteran’s Affairs, specifically focused on Aboriginal Veterans.”
Frank was
appointed a member of the 2019 Veterans Advisory Council in South Australia
(Veterans SA), an organisation founded to support the well-being of South
Australian veterans, which also advises the government of matters concerning
veterans’ affairs, along with being a committee member of Aboriginal Veterans
of South Australia.
These positions
are highly regarded by Frank who has previously undertaken many other public
service roles within Aboriginal and Veterans affairs, most recently including a
former appointment as the Acting Chief Executive of the Department of
Aboriginal Affairs.
Before
joining Veterans SA as a committee member, Frank became involved with the Reconciliation
movement in South Australia to create a memorial to the service of Aboriginal
veterans. This monument acknowledges Aboriginal men and women who fought during
times of war, recognises their service and is a place for Australians to gain a
better awareness of Aboriginal veterans.
“It was
around 2007 or 2008, we actually recognised there didn’t appear to be much
knowledge about the service of Aboriginal veterans. There wasn’t anything specifically
to acknowledge them and so there was an Aboriginal woman who decided we would
do something about that,” Frank explained. “That woman just had to be, Marjorie Tripp. She
was also the first Aboriginal woman to enlist and serve in the Australian navy
and Marjorie was pulling people together, as she kind of unearthed them from
her research, supported by some members Reconciliation SA. Her dream was put a
memorial in place somewhere in the Torrens Parade Ground (in Adelaide).”
As we were
part way through the 2019 Connecting Spirits tour, Frank explained how his
involvement in veterans affairs is very personal because while he is a veteran
himself, he is able to reflect and use his ties to the Aboriginal and veteran
communities to remember and honour his younger brother, Laurence who fought in
the Vietnam War. Ironically, the two brothers were 17 months apart in age,
which is very similar to the age gap between the Rigney brothers.
Once the
dedication to the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander memorial took place
on 10th November 2013, the original committee formed by Ms Tripp,
decided to stay together and there they constructed a group known as the
Aboriginal Veterans of South Australia (AVSA). The committee structured
themselves very similarly to Reconciliation SA, in that, the organisation has Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal co-chairpersons.
“Marjorie
Tripp approached me and said, would I join the committee she was putting
together and of course I couldn’t help myself,” said Frank. “I just about broke
my neck to get there though because, living in the back of my mind, is the loss
of my younger brother Laurence. He enlisted around the time I got called up, he
was younger than me and I sort of wanted his service to be recognised.”
Returning
to the main reasons Frank and his wife joined the Connecting Spirits tour, he
told of the few occasions his mother spoke of Cyril and Rufus Rigney, two
cousins of his mother, but who are culturally known to Frank as his Uncles.
Aboriginal culture is based on respect for elders and in some instances older
members of the group are known as ‘Uncle or Aunty’, whether or not they are
related in a way that many would see an aunt or uncle to be.
Private Cyril
Spurgeon and Private Rufus Gordon Rigney were two brothers from Point McLeay in
South Australia, who sadly never made it home from Belgium after being killed
and wounded in action. Rufus later succumbed to his wounds. Over 100 years
later Cyril still has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate
Memorial in Ieper, while Rufus is buried in Harlebeke New British Cemetery,
also in Belgium.
“I am very
proud to say they are related to my family and my mother actually mentioned
them one or twice in my life, but I would have been pretty young in those
days,” Frank outlined. “The only other
time I can remember speaking about them with her, was after I came home from
National Service. We had a considerable conversation about my brother, Laurence
because he enlisted and you can consider reasons why Rufus followed Cyril, they
were fairly close and my younger brother, actually wanted to join me in the
Army as well.”
The two Rigney
brothers inspired Frank as they have with former members of Connecting Spirits
tours, because in their community of Raukkan, the brothers are seen as heroes.
The local church has a window dedicated to those in the community who served
during World War I (WWI). They are seen to many members of the community as
‘Uncles’ due to the cultural aspect, suggesting those living in or who are
originally from Raukkan, hold a significant amount of respect for the
Aboriginal boys who went off to fight in the war.
The entire
2019 group impressed Frank with their interest of Aboriginal service during WWI
and in particular, the knowledge the group shared for Cyril and Rufus Rigney’s
service, whether they were Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal. By visiting the
battlefields of WWI, the Connecting Spirits group was able to gain a clearer insight
into what really happened in the countryside of France and Belgium from 1914 to
1918. No one can appreciate the gravity of the war just by completing Internet
research and the Connecting Spirits tour takes an emotional, yet significant
approach while touring former battlefields.
“The thing
that has stood out for me is that there is so much interest by everyone in the
group and it’s given me the opportunity to spice it up a little with that
cultural detail,” Frank stated. “The kind of issues of status in our wider
community, on a political level if you like, were both Cyril and Rufus would
have enjoyed a much stronger cultural participation in our community than I
ever had. Being able to observe first hand where they actually served, must
have been a huge shock for them to be called up in an environment they never
quite fully understood, yet at the same time how we relate to country and that
is earth is mother to us.”
As communities
throughout Australia responded to the call of enlistment, Aboriginal servicemen
enlisted for the war, to fight under the Australian flag and for the so-called
‘motherland’, Great Britain. Even though they were not respected as owners of
the land and faced more discrimination back home, a known record of around just
over 1000 Aboriginal men enlisted to fight in the war. The real number is
expected to be much higher, as after 1915 it became harder for Aboriginal men
to enlist and most were categorised to be exempt from service.
Those who
did enlist are not known to have contemplated the cultural differences, which
were evident in society at the time. They wanted to be loyal to their country and showed a great amount of sacrifice in doing so.
“To actually pay my deepest respects to them is pretty high on the agenda, a pretty high responsibility I had to take, and I feel from that,” Frank says.
“Their whereabouts and the mystery of their participation is a lot clearer to me and I fully understand the perils of what they would have experienced. At the same time though, not having them come back home, to be in that position to commemorate them, in some small way is the most important thing.”
Both Frank and his wife Sandy are glad they joined the Connecting Spirits tour, as they gained further insight into WWI and found further connections of interest to each of their extended family’s history. Frank in particular has been able to share his knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal service during WWI, while bringing the cultural significance of the Ngarrindjeri people to the entire group and other people they met along the way.
Departure day, Tuesday April 9, 2019 (Adelaide Airport)
Frank and Sandy Lampard, Pozieres, Somme (France)
Commemorations at Mouquet Farm, the site where Ngarrindjeri soldier Arthur Thomas Walker is believed to be K.I.A. 16th August, 1916.
Frank supporting Jo at her grandfather's grave.
Frank Lampard, Felicia Hartmann and Anyupa Giles with photo of Sandy Wilson.
Sandy and Frank
Frank, Felicia and Anyupa at the Menin Gate where Cyril Rigney is remembered.
Friendship...
The Ngarrindjeri flag flies proudly at the Harelbeke New British Cemetery where Rufus Rigney is buried.
Commemorating Pte. Rufus Gordon Rigney, Frank's direct relative.
Emotions overflow...
Anzac Day, Codford UK- we remember Walter Gollan (43rd Battalion) father of Sandy Wilson.
Codford CWGC cemetery, UK, Anzac Day Dawn Service 2019
Farewell...for now...
