Captain 'Reg' Saunders' Legacy to our Father and our Nation

Glenda Humes will talk about the incredible story of her Father Reg Saunders, the first Aboriginal Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian army.

After being part of the disastrous campaign in Greece, Reg ended up in on the island of Crete and his battalion 2/7th was left behind. Saunders was one of the many Australian soldiers who refused to surrender and instead was hidden on Crete for 11 months by the Zagarachis family.

Glenda re-tells the story of her father but also looks at the his legacy and the impact being on Crete has had on her father as a leader of this nation.

Today in Crete there is a memorial in Reg’s honour that not only looks at his contribution but also the Australian War effort in Crete.

Glenda Humes is a Gunditjmara and Jawoyn woman. She is a passionate advocate for First Nations people across all the issues that impact them.

With emphasis on the law and health and Australian military history, particularly the Greece campaign in the Second World War and Korea. Glenda has been a strong advocate for good health outcomes for our people for over 40 years. She has been involved in Aboriginal Health, serving on boards at the local, state and National level and has a worker. She has worked as an Aboriginal Health worker, health policy officer, deputy CEO of the National Community Controlled Health Organisation, former Deputy Chairperson of NACCHO and a former CEO of the South West Aboriginal Medical Service in Bunbury. Glenda was a founding member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans Association and was awarded a Centenary Medal. Glenda has a long history of working specifically in Aboriginal affairs at the State Government level and the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

Glenda’s interest in Australian military history is a direct result of her father’s war service in Greece and Crete in 1941 and 1942. With family she has visited Crete on three occasions, and followed in her father’s footsteps, meeting families who supported and protected him and the battle field of 42nd Street near the village of Tsiklaria.

Glenda is currently living in Toowoomba and is raising four teenage grandchildren. Glenda has been volunteering in the community since retiring, with stints at the hospital, the Breast clinic and is an elder on the Murri Court and the Which Way Indigenous youth group. She reads to children at school and is very active in the community during NAIDOC.

Glenda has a LLB and a MA in Indigenous Social Policy.