Valentine Hare transcript
Start of transcript
Text on screen:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers should be aware that this documentary contains images and names of deceased people.
Text on screen:
BLACK DIGGERS OF LOGAN
(Ticking of clock, piano music)
Description:
A wall clock is ticking on the wall, adjacent to framed family photos. Aunty Iris Glenbar is serving Sue Prenzler (a former staff member from Logan City Council Libraries) a cup of tea as they both sit down at a table in Aunty Iris’s home.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
Cup of tea there, Sue.
Description:
Aunty Iris is seated at a kitchen table as she looks through old records and photos that display the life story of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
That's the only word I can say is, overwhelmed. When my cousin sees this, he's going to be overwhelmed as well.
Description:
Aunty Iris is seated at the kitchen table in an interview setting as she talks about her journey finding out more about Valentine Hare’s history.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
Today, I received a lot of information from Sue who’s with the Logan City Library.
Description:
A document is displayed on screen of Valentine Hare's signature on his attestation paper from World War One, piano music continues to play in the background. Valentine Hare's signature is then displayed in white on a black screen.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
We've been searching for some record of him for some time now, and finally got some.
Description:
A document is displayed on screen of Valentine Hare's signature on his attestation paper from World War One, piano music continues to play in the background. Valentine Hare's signature is then displayed in white on a black screen.
Sue Prenzler:
So this is from The Queenslander, it was a publication at the time.
Description:
Aunty Iris is sitting at the table in an interview looking at a copy of enlistment photographs from The Queenslander newspaper.
Text on Screen:
Iris Glenbar
Niece of Valentine Hare
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
The photograph that was sort of given to me, is a list of photographs of people who enlisted in Queensland, and his name's on there so it has to be him.
(Background piano music)
Description:
A close up is shown of the enlistment photos, highlighting the image of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
I can see the resemblance there to my uncles - and my cousins.
Description:
Aunty Iris is at her table in an interview, looking at the enlistment photos.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
So I can't describe how I feel about it because it's very emotional for me, but at the same time I'm very happy!
Description:
Photos of family members appear one-by-one in frames on the wall.
(Background piano music)
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
My mum was taken from North Queensland with half of her family down to Cherbourg. They left four or five brothers behind, the older ones, and Valentine was one of them.
Description:
There is a close up of Valentine’s Enlistment photograph from The Queenslander – this is a portrait of a young Valentine Hare in his army uniform as he looks seriously into the camera.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
The family said that he wasn't old enough to enlist and he put his age up because he just wanted to do something and get out of there.
Description:
Aunty Iris is sat at a table in her home, talking to the camera directly.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
Maybe this was his way of doing something for Country and then getting back together with the rest of the family, which was taken away down South, and which he did. But also it was to sort of be recognised, I suppose, for being a part of Australia.
Description:
Stone of Remembrance at the Australian War Memorial, inscribed with words – THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The footage shows a number of views in Canberra including: Anzac Parade to Parliament House, a World War One tank, the Australian War Memorial Pool of Reflection, and the Australia War Memorial Roll of Honour. Memorial with the words: REMEMBERING THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN THE AUSTRALIAN FORCES.
Gary Oakley:
The legend, the Anzac legend, is ours as well!
Description:
Gary Oakley is standing in the bush, facing directly into the camera.
Text on Screen:
Gary Oakley
Australian War Memorial
Gary Oakley:
At the outbreak of the First World War, lots of indigenous Australians, I mean, I know at least over a thousand who served and they flocked to the colours and they served on Gallipoli, from every campaign from Gallipoli, all the way through France and Belgium and Palestine.
Description:
Image of 13 soldiers from a group portrait of members of the 66th Battalion wearing army hats and uniforms, and looking seriously into the camera. Image of 11 soldiers from a group portrait of the 3rd General Service Reinforcements wearing their uniforms and looking into the camera with a serious expression.
Gary Oakley:
Every one of these thousand plus people that I know of was a role model. Valentine Hare.
Description:
Valentine Hare’s attestation papers are displayed on the screen.
Gary Oakley:
He was born in Queensland and like a lot of Indigenous servicemen in the First World War, the only thing you know about them is in their service record. You know hardly anything about him. When he joins, you just know where he comes from, whether he has a relative who's his next of kin. He serves in the Second Light Horse, a Queensland unit. He joins quite late and he then was sent overseas to Palestine.
(Violin music playing in background)
Description:
The Australian Light Horse on the march on the desert sand at Sheikh Nuran Palestine, 1918 Members of the Australian Light Horse, exhausted after the first battle at Amman, returning from Es Salt, Australian Light Horse on the march in Jerusalem, row of casualties in litters at an Advanced dressing Station established by the 2/4 Light Horse Field Ambulance.
Gary Oakley:
The unfortunate thing about him was, just before the battle of Es Salt in Palestine, he has a gunshot wound to the left thigh. He's hospitalised, sent back to Australia.
Description:
Gary Oakley is standing in the bush, facing directly into the camera.
Gary Oakley:
A couple of months after he's back in Australia, he's discharged from the Army and he vanishes.
Description:
An embarkation stamp is shown on Valentine Hare’s form, then fades away.
Aunty Iris is sitting at her table, looking through many documents and files on the history of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
My mum told us when we were younger, growing up in Cherbourg, that her brother came to visit when he came back from over there.
Description:
An image is displayed of an AIF tunic with rising sun badge on collar and a Light Horse Hat with emu feathers.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
And he was in his full uniform with the feather in the hat and all that.
Description:
Aunty Iris is sitting at her table speaking about the history of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
He was one of these people that were considered to be exempted from The Act, as they called it in those days, and they weren't allowed to stay on the communities for too long. So after the visit, he went back up North and that's when they lost track of him.
Description:
Aunty Iris holding Valentine’s papers, with details, including his Sydney address and occupation after the war. There is a slideshow displaying close ups of the scanned documents.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
I just can't believe how much information is there. I really can't. And I'm certainly going to read that properly. Another thing that stands out to me is finding out that he actually lived in north Queensland and then went to Sydney for some time, where he did some busking or something on the street there in Sydney, and then going back to north Queensland to live, and then eventually be buried up there. Um, yes.
Description:
There is a slideshow of images displaying Cairns Lawn Cemetery and Valentine Hare’s unmarked grave.
Text on Screen:
Cairns
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
A shadow that we knew about was there, but a shadow that we had nothing on paper to say that he even existed. Not even a grave!
Description:
Aunty Iris is sitting at her table speaking to the camera.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
But now we have found it. So, take it from here!
Description:
A photo is displayed of a casual group of Aboriginal soldiers, overlayed by studio portraits of individual Light Horsemen, finishing with a portrait of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
I think the story has been untold for so long, that the wider community don't realise how many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women served in all of the armed forces. Not just the Army or the Air Force, but like, with him, in the Light Horse Brigade.
Description:
Aunty Iris Glenbar is seated at her table talking in an interview.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
I never thought we'd get recognition for our enlisted service men and women. Because I know that when some of them came back, they weren't entitled to a lot of things. And unfortunately we lost track with him. It seems like he didn't have a family so I am a bit sad about that!
Description:
Aunty Iris Glenbar is sitting at her table looking through documents with details on the history of Valentine Hare.
Aunty Iris Glenbar:
There's a lot for me to go through! A lot for me to go through. But it's wonderful that I've got something to actually look at now. And it's just a wonderful thing to be able to do. To find out what happened to him, on my mum's behalf, anyway.
(Background guitar music)
Text on screen:
Producer & Director
Douglas Watkin
Text on screen:
Editor
Axel Grigor
Text on screen:
Camera & Sound
Matt Cox
Lucas Tomoana
Production Manager
Amanda Kaye
Text on screen:
Logan City Council gratefully acknowledges the time, resources, and stories of the following:
Aunty Iris Glenbar
Stacey Glenbar
Gary Oakley, Australian War Memorial
Nyeumba Meta Advisory Group
Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
National Archives of Australia
Text on screen:
Logan City Council acknowledges permission granted by the Australian War Memorial, National Archives of Australia and State Library of Queensland to digitally reproduce the following:
Australian War Memorial
PO4948.002: Group portrait of members of the 66th Battalion
PO1074.001: Group portrait of the 3rd General Service Reinforcements (Queensland), Egypt for the Light Horse recruits for 1917
BO1958: The Australian Light Horse on the march on the desert sand at Sheikh Nuran
POO339.025: Palestine, 1918. Members of the Australian Light Horse, Exhausted after the first battle at Amman, returning from Es Salt. (Donor D. Woods)
BO1619: A regiment of the Australia Light Horse on the march in Jerusalem
HOO893: Rows of causalities in litters at an Advance Dressing Station established by the 2:4 Light Horse Field Ambulance
PO1719001: Informal group portrait of 24 members of the Australian Light Horse, possibly from the 5th Light Horse Regiment and probably at a camp in Palestine
DA13883: Studio portrait of Aboriginal serviceman, 5243 Private (Pte) George Alexander Terrick, 16th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion, of Healesville, Victoria
POO889.015: Portrait of 2428 Trooper (Tpr) Frank Fisher, an Aboriginal serviceman who was born in Claremont, Queensland
POO889.004: Studio portrait of 2436 Private (Pte) Harry C Murray, 11th Light Horse Regiment. Pte Murray of Taroom, Queensland
PO1625.003: Studio portrait of 2435 Private (Pte) William Joseph Punch, 1st Battalion
PO 1695.002: Studio portrait of an Aboriginal serviceman, 2459 Corporal (Cpl) Harry Thorpe MM.
POO889.021: Studio portrait of an Aboriginal serviceman, 50246 Trooper (Tpr) William (Willie) Allen, 11th Light Horse Regiment
PO1703.001 Clevedon, Avon, England. C. 1918. Studio portrait of a very young unidentified Aboriginal soldier, probably form the 20th Battalion, 1st AIF
PO1232.002: Portrait of an Aboriginal serviceman, 7745 Private (Pte) Jack McAlister
Text on screen:
National Archives of Australia
NAA: B2455, HARE V
NAA: BP709/1, M10669
State Library of Queensland
V. Hare, one of the soldiers photographed in The Queensland Pictorial supplement to The Queenslander, 1917
Text on screen:
Produced by (Double Wire Productions logo)
Post-Production Services by (Faraway Productions logo)
Text on screen:
This project is proudly supported by Logan City Council and the Queensland Government
(Logan City Council logo)
(Anzac Centenary logo)
(Queensland Government logo)
Text on screen:
© 2015 Double Wire Productions, NITV, Logan City Council