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From AWM Biography

Born in Port Willunga, South Australia, Pte Daniel Hodgekiss grew up on the Point McLeay mission station. A member of the Ngarrindjeri tribe, Hodgekiss was the eldest of six children and moved to the Riverland district as an adult once he left the mission. He worked as a labourer and spent some time living with his only surviving sister in Berri. By this time Hodgekiss' father, mother, and his other siblings had all died.

In February 1916 Hodgekiss volunteered for service in the Australian Imperial Force across the border in Mildura, and less than two months later he was on board HMAT Euripides bound for the Western Front. As 1916 drew to an end, the major battles along this line of trenches, which stretched from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border, came to a grinding halt. Both the allies and the Germans had become bogged down in the mud, while respiratory diseases, rheumatism, and frostbite became commonplace once winter set in.

In December Hodgekiss was admitted to hospital with trench foot and evacuated to England for treatment. He returned to training some three months later, and in October 1917 found himself once again holding the front line in the cold of winter.

In March 1918 the German army launched the first of a series of attacks along the Western Front. The British reeled back in disarray as the Germans advanced towards Amiens, and the Australians were rushed forward to help stem the tide near Villers-Bretonneux. When night fell on 24 April, nearly three years to the day after the landing on Gallipoli, the Australians counter-attacked and recaptured Villers-Bretonneux.

After capturing its objective, Hodgekiss’ battalion came under heavy machine-gun fire. Without any consideration for his own safety, and with only a flare to light his way, he rushed towards the machine-gun post and silenced the gunner. His action was recognised in the official history of Australia’s involvement in the First World War, but no medal was awarded.

A month after this battle, Hodgekiss was wounded when a high-explosive artillery shell fell near his position. He spent several months recovering in England, where he celebrated the end of the war in November 1918. While waiting for his return to Australia, Hodgekiss undertook a training course in sheep shearing, and was repatriated to Australia in June.

Hodgekiss had difficulties adapting to civilian life, and died in 1924 from war-related wounds. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Mildura, but in 2012 his resting place was uncovered by a local researcher. His remains were granted a new headstone with an epitaph that read: “His duty nobly done.” That same year, former Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Warren Snowden shared Hodgekiss’ story as part of the Anzac Day service at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.

Contributed by Southern Montessori School, South Australia

A total of 416,809 Australians bravely fought in the first world war, this was about 38.7% of the male population (aged between 18 and 44) at the time. Private Daniel Hodgekiss was a part of the low number of about 1,000 Indigenous Australians out of an estimated population of about 93,000 who fought in World War One. This estimate is made by The Australian War Memorial, however, they believe that the real number is probably higher. The fact that Private Daniel Hodgekiss's service went unrecognised (similarly to hundreds of other Indigenous Australians who fought in the war) is absolutely devastating and his story like many others, needs to be shared (Peck, 2018).Daniel Hodgekiss was an Aboriginal soldier who fought in World War One. He was born in 1875 in Port Willunga, South Australia. Hodgekiss grew up on the Point Mcleay mission station and was a member of the Ngarrindjeri tribe. Hodgekiss was the eldest child and had five younger sisters. Little is known about Hodgekiss's family as most of his family had sadly passed away by the time he was an adult. As an adult, Hodgekiss moved from the mission to the Riverland district where he worked as a labourer and lived with his only surviving family, his sister, in Berri (Australian War Memorial, 2020) (Australian War Memorial, 2016).

Daniel Hodgekiss later went on to volunteer for service in the Australian Imperial Force in Mildura in February, 1916. When Hodgekiss enlisted in the army, soldiers with indigenous were not officially permitted to enlist. However, some soldiers managed to slip past the rules and fought anyway, Hodgekiss was one ofthem. This law didn't change until October 1917 and even with the changed law, the enlistee still had the requirement to have at least one parent of European origin. Even with these laws, Daniel Hodgekiss persevered in joining the Army as he wanted to fight for his country (Peck, 2018).

Less than two months after joining the army, Hodgekiss was aboard the ship HMAT Euripides, which was headed to the Western Front. Towards the end of 1916, the battles in the line of trenches that stretched from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border came to a stand-still. As winter set in, so did frostbite, rheumatism and respiratory diseases. All of which were extremely deadly. In December 1916, Hodgekiss contracted trench foot (caused by feet being wet for too long) causing them to 'rot,' and had to be evacuated to England for treatment. About three months later he returned to training. By October 1917, Hodgekiss was once again fighting on the front lines (Cherney, 2017) (Australian War Memorial, 2020).

In March, 1918, the German army mounted a series of attacks along the Western Front. This caused disorder and panic amongst the Allies, leading to the Australians being rushed out to help fight in Villers-Bretonneux, France. Private Daniel Hodgekiss was one of those Australians who were rushed out to help the British leading him to fight as a part of the 59th Australian Infantry Battalion in the Battle of Villers­ Bretonneux

One evening, Hodgekiss' battalion was under heavy machine-gun fire after completing its objective. This took a hard toll onthesoldiers and caused the death of a number of men. The gunner equipped with the machine-gun was violently firing from beside a haystack. With courage, Hodgekiss unselfishly rushed towards the machine gun with only a flare to produce light. Hodgekiss, presumably thinking of protecting his battalion, made the decision to run around the haystack and kill the gunner-fortunately, this was a successful attack.

This courageous act was recognised in the official history of Australia's involvement in World War One. However, although well deserved, no medal was awarded (Australian War Memorial, 2020) (Peck, 2018).

On the night of the 24th of April, the Australians recaptured Villers-Bretonneux, however, a month after this victory, a highly-explosive artillery shell fell near Hodgekiss, severely wounding him. However, his exact whereabouts when this event occurred could not be found. This resulted in Hodgekiss spending several months recovering in England. During his recovery he celebrated the end of the war in November, 1918.

Hodgekiss took training courses in sheep shearing while awaiting his return to Australia. He returned to Australia in June, 1919. Hodgekiss had trouble adapting to civilian life due to his severe disability that was a result of his physical and metal wounds from the war. These wounds resulted in him living an isolated life until he died only five years later, in 1924, at the young age of 38 due to war-related wounds. This meant that Hodgekiss was unable to live very long in the now peaceful country that he had fought so hard for. Many men who fought in the army had similar difficulties once home (Australian War Memorial, 2020).

Daniel Hodgekiss was buried in an unmarked grave in Mildura for almost a century, that is until 2009 when his grave was uncovered by local researcher and historian, Lisa Cooper. Lisa Cooper with the help of the Mildura RSL discovered Daniel Hodgekiss's story and in 2012 a headstone was granted to Hodgekiss's grave which can be found in the Nichols Point cemetery. "He was essentially anonymous for more than 80 years after his death, so it was really sad for any veteran," Ms Cooper said. The epitaph on Daniel Hodgekiss's headstone read: "His duty nobly done."

That same year that the headstone was granted, as part of the Anzac Day service at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux former Minister for Veterans Affairs Warren Snowden shared Hodgekiss's story. Describing Hodgekiss as, "One of those who fought so bravely here at Villers­ Bretonneux," and saying "Beyond the telling in the official history, his gallantry went unrecognised." This means that fortunately, Hodgekiss no longer lies in an unmarked grave with his story untold (Peck, 2018) (Parliament of Australia, 2012).

The Anzac Spirit

The word 'Anzac' has been a part of Australian culture since the 25th of April 1915. 'ANZAC' was made as an acronym for "Australian and New Zealand Army Crops" but has since evolved to a word with multiple meanings and uses. 'Anzac spirit' refers to the positive qualities that Australians have shown in the war. According to the Australian War Memorial, the main qualities consist of, "endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship." Private Daniel Hodgekiss has shown all the qualities of Anzac spirit throughout his life but him and his story especially show endurance and courage. Endurance means to push through and endure an unpleasant situation or process without giving up. Hodgekiss enlisting in the army shows his perseverance, as enlisting in the army itself was no small feat and Hodgekiss had to go out of his way to enlist due to his Indigenous background. This was no easy accomplishment as the law was against him. Courage means bravery, doing something that frightens you, is having courage. Hodgekiss exemplified the Anzac Spirit through his actions during the battle of Villers-Bretonneux which were courageous and showed endurance. This is due to the fact that when put under a difficult and hopeless seeming situation, Hodgekiss did not give up and gave it his all by attacking the German gunner without a second thought for his own life. His motivations were simply to help his battalion and fellow soldiers, therefore also displaying the quality of 'mateship' (Australian War Memorial, 2020).