PILBARA REGIMENT

Pilbara Regiment members at the NAIDOC Karratha morning tea last week.

Representatives of the Australian Army reserve’s Pilbara Regiment were present at several NAIDOC events.

The Regiment’s second in command Major Craig Cunningham pointed out they were the only unit of the Australian Army to have a motto in an Indigenous language.

“We’re really keen to try and recruit First Nations people because they’ve lived on the land for generations and have far more knowledge of the land and how to survive on the land than perhaps we do that have come across,” he said. “Regular staff have come from eastern states, enlisted into the regular Army and moved over here and sort of transition through, two to three years. So we want to try and get the people that live on the land permanently.”

Cultural advisor and Ngarluma woman Liet. Maria Martin Pedersen said more Aboriginal people were joining the Regiment.

“We’re interested in people who want to work on Country, who want to work in their own country but also taking care of country,” she said.