Aimee McCartney
Taungurung, Wotjabuluk, Wemba and Wurrung woman.
Flight Lieutenant
Royal Australian Air Force – 4 years
Medals
Australian Defence Force Medal
Born and raised on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm Melbourne, I am the eldest girl of nine children. I completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Australian History and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne in 2013, but I am also an emerging contemporary Indigenous artist with a company called ‘Luruk’ which means ‘Your Sister’. For the past six years, I have worked for State and Federal Government to establish clear and accessible employment pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander peoples, across all departments, divisions and business units. I am active in my local community as a board member of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council and I was fortunate to have represented Victoria at the National Indigenous Youth Parliament in 2017. I joined the Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) in 2018 because their values of Respect, Excellence, Agility, Determination, Integrity and Teamwork strongly resonate with me as an Aboriginal woman. I want to serve my country, defend our nation and protect our way of life based upon these values. I am currently posted to Headquarters Air Academy as the Unit Personnel Capability Officer.
From the time of the Boer War and the First World War to the present day, our people have served our nation in every conflict in which it has been involved in. I believe the concept of protecting Country did not stop with the arrival of European settlement as we have been protecting Country for generations. This long tradition of service carries on today, with the many men and women who have chosen a career in the Australian Defence Force. The ADF has recognised that we, the first peoples of this country have much to offer in skill and culture. I am proud to be serving my country and I hope, in the near future, to I see many more of our community serving alongside me. My time is spent serving my country. I do this by being proud of who I am and where I have come from. I tell our stories through the vivid oral histories and treasured family images of my people. For too long the service of Indigenous Australians has been a secret history known only to our families and communities. Our stories and achievements have been in the shadows but now is our moment, my moment to share mine with you.
I come from a long line of Aboriginal people who have served in the Australian Defence Force. My Great-Great Great Grandfather Private Alfred Jackson Coombs known as “Jack” served in WW1 in the 60th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement in the Australian Imperial Force. Jack was born at Ebenezer Mission near Horsham in the Wimmera region of Victoria. Jack enlisted on the 19 May 1916 at the age of 29, and his brother Willie Coombs aged 18, followed him two weeks later. Both Jack and Willie embarked from Melbourne, Victoria and were based on the Western Front. On 2 September 1918, during the Battle of Amiens, Jack was gassed and did not return to the field. He returned to Australia on 24 July 1919, four days before the end of the war and was discharged on 11 November 1919. He soon found work on a station near Balranald in New South Wales and, on 14 February 1920, married Mary Kirby. They had three boys, Cecil, Archie and Cornelius. Little else is known about the rest of Jack’s life or the long-term effects of his war service, but we know he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory medal. Jack died, aged 61, on 27 December 1948 in Drouin.
Jack’s brother Willie was wounded in action in March 1917 on the Western Front, with gunshot wounds to his face and hands. After recuperating for several months in England from gunshot wounds he received to his face and hands he was sent back home to Australia. Willie successfully applied for a partial war pension of 15 shillings per fortnight. In 1953, Willie died of ‘persistent Pneumonia’ in Mildura aged approximately 55 years. Willie, like his brother Jack, was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory medal. My Great-Great Great Uncle Cornelius James Coombs “Corney” enlisted in June 1917, however due to a weakened knee he was discharged as medically unfit for service after 108 days service. Other family members who served in WW1 include; Walter Franklin, who enlisted at age 25; Albert Franklin, aged 18 and Leslie Franklin, aged 18.
In the Second World War my family continued to serve their country – with my great aunt, Aunty Jean Williamson (nee Stewart) at aged 19 who enlisted in the Women’s Australian Auxiliary Air Force as a stewardess and my Great-Great Uncle Norman Franklin who served in Papua New Guinea. In more recent times my mother and uncle have served in the Australian Regular Army and my cousin has served in the Royal Australian Navy. These are just 10 stories in my family, and I am proud to share these stories and memories of our little-known history.
Lastly, for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who did and still defend this country, those who shared and those who continue to share their stories of service and the stories of their relations, including those no longer with us. We remember them.