Part-time Army soldiers from 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment (9RQR), reunited with Indigenous education organisation Yalari just before Anzac Day to help mentor Indigenous youth.
About a dozen graduates from the not-for-profit program travelled from across Australia to Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, for leadership training on Exercise Warrior Spirit.
The leadership week incorporated activities to test the alumni’s physical endurance, and build resilience, teamwork, camaraderie and decision making.
9RQR plans officer, Major Steven Moye, said he noticed a big difference in the former students during the program, which took them through navigation, field craft, first aid, Anzac history and various learning opportunities with guest speakers.
Major Moye said it was great to see their growth and development.
“To watch them come out of their shells with each activity and see the way they all attacked everything we – and Mother Nature – threw at them was phenomenal.”
Yalari gives secondary school scholarships to Indigenous children from regional and remote communities. The alumni are those students who have moved on to university, started other training or entered the work force.
‘It highlighted the determination of our students, who were constantly encouraged by the soldiers and found it in themselves to persevere despite physical hardships.’
The 9RQR soldiers previously worked with Yalari in 2011 during a five-day, 115km trek from Kilcoy to the Aboriginal community of Cherbourg in south-east Queensland.
Yalari founding director Waverley Stanley said the collaboration with Army and 9RQR had been profound.
“The original walk surpassed all our expectations,” Mr Stanley said.
“It highlighted the determination of our students, who were constantly encouraged by the soldiers and found it in themselves to persevere despite physical hardships.
“The collaboration between 9RQR and Yalari this year not only reaches in to honour the Anzac spirit but also strengthens our bond and the respect across cultures, embodying the true spirit of comradeship and resilience.”
On Anzac Day, the Yalari alumni joined 9RQR soldiers at 11th Brigade headquarters for the dawn service, followed by the march in Brisbane.
Later this year, Yalari will again make the trek from Kilcoy to Cherbourg – to retrace the steps Aboriginal people from Durundur were forced to make in 1905.
Major Moye said soldiers from 9RQR are hoping to again help support Yalari on the walk.
“I think everybody from the battalion is very keen to go. This year’s experience has been so positive for all of us,” he said.
Commanding Officer of 9RQR, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Winter, also saw a lot of positives in the ongoing relationship with Yalari for his soldiers.
“Through our shared journey with Yalari, it’s evident that the true strength of our forces lies not just in our ability to defend, but in our capacity to understand, respect and forge genuine connections with the communities we serve,” he said.
