The Serving Country Book
The Serving Country Project’s website and exhibitions recognise and acknowledge the valuable contributions of Australian First Nations servicemen and servicewomen who have proudly served or continue to serve our nation by sharing the lived experiences of over 450 Australian First Nations veterans and serving members of the Australian Defence Force.
Serving Country plays a healing role in our communities and is invaluable in preserving these important histories for future generations. The contributions of those featured enrich our knowledge and ensure that the sacrifices and legacies of these veterans are honoured and remembered. By sharing their stories, they inform us about our past, but there are aspects of that past that remain very relevant today. It is through seeking to learn that we can create a better understanding of our shared history. Serving Country is the creative work of human rights social documentarians Belinda Mason and Dieter Knierim.
Now, over 300 of the participants’ first-person stories and black and white full-page portraits will be featured in a new special edition high-quality hardcover book, measuring 37.5 cm x 28.5 cm in size and weighing 6.2 kg. Please contact us if you would like to make a pre-sale purchase.
The foreword is written by General the Honourable David Hurley AC, DSC (Retd), former Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Roy Mundine OAM,
Inaugural Indigenous Elder of the Australian Army
“Serving Country puts the spotlight on that significant contribution and will serve a dual role: a collection of art and a means of education for younger generations. It also highlights the power of art to open our minds and broaden our understanding. The portraits and narratives of First Nations servicemen and women provide a window to stories of mateship, sacrifice, courage and endurance. It is through seeking to learn that we can create better understandings of our shared history."
First Nations Australians have had a long and proud history of serving in the defence of our country from the frontier wars until today. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have served our nation for more than a century—from South Africa and Gallipoli, the trenches of Belgium and France, and the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam, to the rocky deserts of Afghanistan and on active operations and peacekeeping missions across the globe. Exact numbers are not known of how many First Nations Australian men and women served in the Australian defence forces, as official defence policy in the first half of the twentieth century was aimed at excluding the enlistment of persons “not substantially of European origin or descent”. That so many served at all at a time when they were denied the basic rights of citizenship is significant – a situation not fully corrected until the 1970s.
The Portraits and Stories
To see the portraits and read their stories, please visit:
The Serving Country Exhibition
The ‘Serving Country’ photographic exhibition, serves to acknowledge and honour the valuable contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and servicewomen who have served or who are serving in the Australian Defence Force. The exhibition serves as a platform for sharing of stories, both inspiring and devastating. Uncle Roy Mundine (pictured) is the Australian Army’s inaugural Indigenous Elder, an exhibition participant, and a long-time supporter of the project. The exhibition continues to grow and now includes over 165 portraits on brushed steel panels, silk banners and 3D holographic lenticulars. The artists, Belinda Mason OAM and Dieter Knierim, have worked closely with Department of Veterans Affairs, City of Sydney, and Babana Men’s Group travelling from Cairns to Perth, from Melbourne to Darwin, and to many small communities in between to photograph and record the narratives of over 350 participants for the project.
We are open to invitations to display the work in the future should an opportunity arise that reflects the goal of the exhibition and the view of the participants. Here are the exhibition dates:
MUTTI creates multi-media exhibitions, including Serving Country, which provides personal insights into the lived experience of people who are impacted by multiple discriminations or disadvantages. Their stories challenge audiences to reconsider any prejudices and misconceptions they may have, and ask them to first discover what is similar and familiar, to enable an ability to understand better, diversity and difference. We ask you to open your heart and your mind to the participant of these projects, as they have not only exposed their body by being photographed but also their soul by sharing expressing with you, the most intimate of emotions and thoughts. The support and the guidance of the participants of each exhibition have been critical to the integrity of the work.
If our mission resonates with you, there are ways to support our work and help us continue making a difference. Every gesture of generosity—big or small—helps us preserve stories, amplify voices, and promote inclusion for future generations.
Together, we can build a world where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
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