Len Waters
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| Leonard Victor (Len) Waters | |
|---|---|
| June 29, 1924 – August 24, 1993 (aged 69) | |
 Len Waters, c. 1944-45 |
|
| Place of birth | Boomi, New South Wales |
| Place of death | Cunnamulla, Queensland |
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Service/branch |  Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1942–46 |
| Rank | Warrant Officer |
| Unit | No. 78 Squadron RAAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Leonard Victor (Len) Waters, June 29, 1924 – August 24, 1993, was the first Australian Aboriginal military pilot and was one of only four indigenous people to serve in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II.[1] Aboriginal people at the time suffered significant discrimination and disadvantages in Australian society, such as restrictions on movement, residence, employment, access to services and citizenship.
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[edit] Early life
Waters was the fourth of 11 children for Donald and Grace Waters (née Bennett), and he was born at Euraba Mission, near Boomi, New South Wales. He grew up at Nindigully, Queensland, near St George, and is said to have admired pioneering aviators Charles Kingsford-Smith and Amy Johnson, from an early age.[2] Len left school when he was 13 to support his family, working alongside his father as a ringbarker.[1] He was paid 10 shillings per week, for a seven day week,[1] less than one-sixth of the average wage at the time.[3] In 1939, Waters began working as a shearer.
[edit] RAAF career
Although the military had officially barred or restricted the recruitment of Aboriginal people in earlier periods, these impediments were significantly relaxed after Japan entered World War II, and Australia came under direct attack for the first time.[2]
Waters volunteered for service in the RAAF on August 24, 1942, at Brisbane and was accepted. He began training as an aircraft mechanic, but later volunteered for aircrew service, was accepted and commenced this training in December 1943.[1] His initial training was at No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School, Narrandera.[4] He completed his training, and received his "wings" as a Sergeant Pilot, at No. 5 Service Flying Training School, at Uranquinty, NSW.[4] Waters' training continued at Mildura, Victoria with No. 2 Operational Training Unit.
| I was terribly keen to prove myself in the elite... [and] the flying part of the Air Force is the elite. I might add that there were 375 [students] on that course and 48 of us finished up as pilots... [W]hen we got our wings...there were only three blokes ahead of me on average. Len Waters [1] |
While he was on leave, Waters was reportedly jailed in Moree, New South Wales, for not carrying an identity card, which was one of the racially discriminatory institutions affecting Aboriginal people at the time.[5]
On November 14, 1944, he was posted to No. 78 Squadron, a fighter unit based on Noemfoor, an island off Dutch New Guinea (West Papua). When he arrived, he was allocated a P-40 Kittyhawk. By chance, a previous pilot had nicknamed the plane "Black Magic" and painted those words on its nose.[4] As is the case with other people of colour, Australian Aborigines are sometimes referred to as being "black". Waters found the name of his plane an amusing coincidence and chose to retain it.
By this stage of the war, Japanese aircraft were almost non-existent in the South West Pacific theatre; 78 Squadron's main role was ground attack, and Waters flew 95 sorties, from Noemfoor and later from the air bases at Morotai and Tarakan, in Borneo.[1] On January 1, 1945 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant. By the end of the war, Waters was commanding operations which included commissioned officers.
Waters also held the RAAF middleweight boxing title.[5] He left the air force with the rank of Warrant Officer, on January 18, 1946.
One of his brothers, Donald Edward (Jim) Waters, served as an infantryman with the Australian Army during the war.
[edit] Return to civilian life
After he returned to Australia, Waters attempted to start a regional airline serving south west Queensland. This did not succeed because he could not secure finance or bureaucratic approval.[2] [5] [1] One source says that Waters wrote four letters seeking government approval, but never received a reply.[5] He never flew a plane again.
Waters met and soon married Gladys Saunders, with whom he would have five children. Waters worked as an automotive mechanic, but was forced to cease by union rules, which required him to serve an apprenticeship.[5] He then worked briefly for a local council in Queensland as a roadworker, before returning to shearing, working on properties stretching from North Queensland to Victoria.
He applied for housing commission accommodation and was allocated a house in Inala, Brisbane, in August 1956.[5] Waters eventually bought the property and lived there for 33 years. He died at the age of 69 in Cunnamulla and is buried in St George Cemetery.
[edit] Commemoration
In 1995-96, Waters was honoured in several ways, including the:
- depiction on a stamp and a first day cover by Australia Post
- opening of Len Waters Place, a park in Inala
- Moree Plains Shire Council naming Leonard Waters Park, in Boggabilla, New South Wales
- naming of Len Waters Street, in Ngunnawal, Australian Capital Territory
In 2003, Balonne Shire Council, in St George, erected a monument to Waters and another local RAAF officer.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Hall, Robert A. (1997). The Black Diggers: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Second World War. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, 62-64. ISBN 0-855-75319-6.
- ^ a b c "Indigenous Australian servicemen". Australian War Memorial Online Encyclopedia (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
- ^ At the time, Aboriginal workers usually had a significant part of their wages withheld and passed to the government, ostensibly for the support of destitute indigenous people. According to one source, under regulations which took effect in 1919, male Aboriginal workers under 18 years old in Queensland, had 80% of their wages withheld. (Norris, Rae [2006] The More Things Change...: Continuity in Australian Indigenous Employment Disadvantage 1788-1967, Ph.D thesis, Griffith University, 179-80.
- ^ a b c "Black Magic". ww2australia.gov.au (2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ^ a b c d e f Waters, Patrick (July 8, 2005). A Tough Landing. The Courier Mail (website). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
