Photography exhibition by Belinda Mason OAM launches at Albury Library Museum

It wasn't until the 1967 referendum that Indigenous people were counted in the census, yet despite discrimination and exclusion, they have been serving our country as early as the Boer War.

The exact numbers of men and women that have served in Australia are unknown, due to the official policy around the first half of the 20^th century that excluded the enlistments of people who were "not substantially of European origin or descent".

But the stories and faces of some now line the walls of Albury Library Museum, as part of Serving Country, a photographic exhibition launching on Saturday, created by Belinda Mason.

In 2014, Ms Mason photographed veterans at Redfern's Anzac Day Coloured Diggers March.

She then went to the organisers to get their names, but after being told they weren't aware of them, she realised how far these people had come to be a part of the event, and how much it meant to them.

"Sydney Uni then got involved and displayed the pictures on sandstone walls, and the response was so massive I decided to continue the project, and here we are in 2023, having photographed 300 people from around Australia," she said.

"What stood out to me, is not only the work these people did for the Defence Force, but how they empowered people once they returned to their communities."

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Albury Council's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curator Kat Kitch said for many soldiers, joining the army was the first time they experienced equality, because "it didn't matter what skin colour you had, what mattered was having your mate's back."

"But then they came back, and they couldn't even enter RSLs," she said. "Many soldiers were given land for their service, but Aboriginal people were excluded, and a lot of the land given to white soldiers were actually the traditional land of the Indigenous soldiers.

"So when viewing the exhibition, I hope the local community feel a sense of pride for our past heroes who served our country, and hope for our current generation carrying their legacy."

One Border resident who features in the exhibition is Brent Irvine, a leading aircraftman who served in the Middle East.

"I serve this country and its people," he said. "I will fight for what is right and true, I will always stand fast for my culture and its people, and defend it, no matter what."

Serving Country can be viewed until June 25.

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