Liam Harte
Dunghutti – Saltwater Freshwater
Private
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Infantry Corps
Australian Army
Medals
Australian Active Service Medal with clasp East Timor
Australian Defence Medal
UN Medal East Timor UNTAET
Infantry Combat Badge
NSW Ambulance Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
I grew up around Stanmore and Newtown and was raised by my mum. As a kid, the Bosnian war was on TV at the time, and I remember the role the UN played then – fighting on the side of ‘good’. This had a big impact on me and as I reached an age where I was starting to get into trouble, I decided the best decision would be to leave that trouble and join the Army. In 2003, I deployed to East Timor with 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) as a UN Peacekeeper and served mainly in the hills around Balibo, always on the border. I will never forget the terrain and jungle extractions by ‘Huey’ choppers flown by Malaysian forces. After Timor, when we returned, things had changed and it was time for me to finish.
I travelled around the world and would take any job that was dangerous and paid well – underground mining, security in the UK and remote construction works. It took most of my late 20s to figure out where I was heading in life before I moved to Thailand to train. It was here that I retrofitted a career for myself – I asked myself what do I enjoy, where would I like to work, and how can I be trained in that career? I wanted to help people, I wanted to work outdoors, and NSW Ambulance was offering paid traineeships – Paramedic!
A few years ago, I finished a 10 year career with NSW Ambulance, eventually working as an Intensive Care Paramedic and clinical educator. It was the best 10 years of my life (pre kids), and I saw many wonderful things, some sad, some unbelievable, mostly always humbling.
I live now with my wife and two daughters on beautiful Gadigal Country. I work with amazing First Nations staff and believe in my work in the First Nations space – once again, I find myself fighting on the side of ‘good’.