The Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) held a talk at The University of Sydney on Tuesday, May 16 on Indigenous ANZAC, Captain Reginald Saunders.
The talk was given by Captain Saunders‘ daughter, Glenda Humes, about the story and life of her father, who was the first Aboriginal Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army.
During the talk, Ms Humes shared Captain Saunders’ strong connection to the Greek island of Crete during WWII.
The Indigenous Australian fought in the Battle of Crete with the 2/7 battalion and was supported by the Tzangarakis family from the village of Labini in Rethymno prefecture. He evaded capture on Crete for almost one year until he finally escaped to Egypt.
Many people attended the event in the auditorium of the Chau Chak Wing Museum, including officials such as the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis; Director of the AAIA, Dr Stavros Paspalas; the President of the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW, Emmanuel Vitetzakis; and the Secretary of the Joint Committee for the Commemoration of the Battle of Crete and the Greek Campaign, Nick Andriotakis.
