Australia’s most famous Indigenous officer, Captain Reg Saunders, is to be honoured at the Australian War Memorial next week with a new gallery bearing his name.
Saunders, who served in Greece, Crete, and New Guinea in WWII, before fighting in the Korean War, had close links to Canberra, and next week his eldest surviving daughter Glenda Humes will travel down with family members from Queensland to attend the official gallery opening on 11 November, Remembrance Day.
Attendees at the launch, invited by AWM director Brendan Nelson, will include representatives from Greek and Cretan community associations in Victoria, NSW, and the ACT.
Meanwhile leaders from the Canberran Greek community will be rolling out the red carpet for Ms Humes and the extended Saunders family, taking the opportunity to celebrate the connection between Greece and the iconic digger.
As a 20-year-old after the Allied surrender in Crete in June 1941, Saunders was one of hundreds of ANZAC soldiers given refuge by Cretan villagers. He stayed for nearly a year on the island during the Nazi occupation before his evacuation, organised by Allied secret service agents and Cretan partisans.
George Katheklakis, president of the Cretan Association of Canberra and Districts, told Neos Kosmos that the Hellenic connection to the first Indigenous officer in the Australian Army was a vital narrative.
“Captain Saunders’ story has only recently revealed the deep connection he had with Crete and Greece, and it’s a very special Greek Australian narrative which we want to celebrate and help share more widely,” said Mr Katheklakis.
“Widespread recognition of what this man did for Australia has yet to be truly appreciated, and the naming of the new gallery at the AWM is tremendous.”

The Australian War Memorial. Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch.

“Captain Saunders’ story has only recently revealed the deep connection he had with Crete and Greece, and it’s a very special Greek Australian narrative …”
George Katheklakis

Glenda Humes said she was deeply moved by the AWM’s initiative to name a gallery after her father in recognition of his leadership, service and values.
“Dad had such strong links to the AWM, serving on its council twice, and of course he lived in Canberra for the last 20 years of his life, so we’re reconnecting.”
“I’m so glad that representatives from the Greek community are going to be there on the day. Dad’s life was affected by the kindness, generosity, and courage he saw first as a young soldier – shown to him and his mates by the Cretan people in the war.
“There’s a bond between the Saunders’ clan and Greece that can never be forgotten.”
For the past four years Ms Humes has led efforts to build a major new ANZAC memorial in Crete. The project, with an estimated total cost of over $60,000, has been enthusiastically backed by donors from the Greek Australian community and the Municipality of Chania.
While still short of funds for its completion, with landscaping and other works required, organisers say they’re confident the ’42nd Street Memorial’, near Chania, is on track to be dedicated in May 2016, on the 75th anniversary of the WWII Greece and Crete campaigns.