A new educational podcast called Bringing His Spirit Home: Private Arthur Thomas Walker, Ngarrindjeri Anzac, was launched at the historic Torrens Training Depot in Adelaide. Source: The Southern Cross.
The seven-part, immersive audio podcast was commissioned by the Virtual War Memorial Australia and was funded by the South Australian Department for Education.
Bringing His Spirit Home explores the remarkable World War I journey of Ngarrindjeri Anzac, Private Arthur Thomas Walker. He served in and lost his life in France, becoming one of the many soldiers with “no known grave”. Despite dying in a war deemed “illegal” for him to enlist in, Walker’s legacy persists through his family’s active commemoration.
Walker was a Ramindjeri man of the Ngarrindjeri nation, who left his home in Goolwa, South Australia in 1915 to serve in Gallipoli. When he was killed in action in a muddy field in France in August 1916, he became one of the thousands of soldiers with “no known grave”.
Walker’s story creates an opportunity to explore exactly what the term Anzac means, and what the Anzac spirit entails.
Seventy people from around SA and interstate attended the launch. Guest speakers included Elder Uncle John Lochowiak, head of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in Adelaide and Walker’s great-grandson.
“This was a very emotional podcast to be part of,” Uncle John said. “Even though my mother told us stories about her grandfather, there was a lot we didn’t know. So many people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who were so helpful in gathering information. This is not just about Arthur Thomas Walker, it’s about all our people who served. That’s very important to me.”
The podcast is now live on the Virtual War Memorial Australia website. It also comes with comprehensive classroom resources and is available to the general public.
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Powerful audio podcast ‘Bringing His Spirit Home’ launches ahead of Anzac Day (By Katie Spain, The Southern Cross)
