Serving Country Exhibition

South Eveleigh is proud to showcase ‘Serving Country’, a photographic exhibition recognising and acknowledging the valuable contribution of Australian First Nations servicemen and servicewomen who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force.

For more than a century, First Nations Australians have had a long and proud history of serving in the defence of our nation in many theatres, from South Africa to the present day. Exact numbers are not known of how many First Nations Australians men and women served our nation, 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”. The fact that they 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.

Many returning veterans are still living with the trauma of their experiences in the battlefield. ‘Serving Country’ serves as a platform for sharing stories, both inspiring and devastating, of courage and mateship. Sharing stories plays a vital and healing role in Australian First Nations culture. ‘Serving Country’ is the creative work of Sydney-based human rights social documentarian and Creative Director of Blur Projects, Belinda Mason and Artist Dieter Knierim. 

The ‘Serving Country’ photographic exhibition, located in the heritage South Eveleigh Workshop, shares the lived experiences of Australian First Nations families and individuals who have proudly served and continue to serve in Australia’s Defence Force. Many returning veterans are still living with the trauma of their experiences in the battlefield. ‘Serving Country’ serves as a platform for sharing stories, both inspiring and devastating, of courage and mateship. Sharing stories plays a vital and healing role in Australian First Nations culture. ‘Serving Country’ is the creative work of Sydney-based human rights social documentarian and Creative Director of Blur Projects, Belinda Mason and Artist Dieter Knierim. 

Through the Community Grants Program, South Eveleigh was able to support ‘The Coloured Digger’ ANZAC Day 2022 March in Redfern in acknowledgement of truth telling as part of true national Reconciliation. To complement this event, South Eveleigh is displaying over 75 of the 200 ‘Serving Country’ portraits across the precinct. 

Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders: This exhibition contains images of deceased people. 

This is an ongoing exhibition, we invite you to visit Bay 1 and Bay 2 inside of Locomotive Workshop at South Eveleigh to view the portraits.

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