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Quest for justice

ACU National teaching graduate Vanessa Seek OAM has fought long and hard for Indigenous men serving in the Torres Strait during World War II to be officially recognised.

The discovery of World War II relics in the Torres Strait sparked Vanessa’s quest for justice for some 880 Indigenous Australians who played a key role in defending Australia.

Vanessa (nee Crowdey), who graduated from the University’s Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) in 1993, taught on Thursday Island in the mid 1990s before discovering war relics on nearby Horn Island.

Employed as a receptionist at Horn Island’s Gateway Resort in 1997, Vanessa began giving tours of the sites and creating a heritage museum.

Since then, she has been advocating for the Indigenous men who had served Australia alongside 8,000 non-Indigenous soldiers during World War II, when they were not even recognised as citizens.

“The Japanese dropped 500 bombs on Horn Island, and planted 170 sea mines in the waters around it, while the allies planted 450 sea mines,” Vanessa said. “Among the 157 Australians killed while on duty, 13 were Indigenous, yet after the war, these people were ignored by the Australian government.”

In 2001, thanks to Vanessa’s efforts, the remaining veterans were awarded 1939-45 Star Medals and with them, access to veterans’ medical benefits, but she is still campaigning for them to receive full service pensions.

In 2005, Vanessa, an author and mother of two girls, Morgan and Mason, earned a Masters degree from Central Queensland University with her thesis Horn Island, Torres Strait and the 1939-1945 Star Medal. She was also awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to the World War II veterans of Torres Strait.

Vanessa and her husband, Liberty, have established the Torres Strait WWII Conservation Plan.

Vanessa’s books, Horn Island, In Their Steps 1939-1945 and Discover Horn and Thursday Islands, are available from the Torres Strait Heritage Museum. Email tsangseekee@bigpond.com or telephone (07) 40 90 3333.