William Punch

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William Joseph Punch
William Joseph Punch
Nickname(s)Punch
Born31 March 1880
Bland River, New South Wales, Australia
Died29 August 1917(1917-08-29) (aged 37)
Bournemouth, England
Buried
Bournemouth East Cemetery, Boscombe, Bournemouth
AllegianceAustralian
Service/branchAustralian Imperial Force
Years of service1915–1917
RankPrivate
Service number5435
Unit1st Battalion, 53rd Battalion
Battles/warsFirst World War

Private William Joseph Punch (31 March 1880 – 29 August 1917) was a Wiradjuri serviceman, who as a baby, was the only survivor of the Bland River massacre. He fought in World War One with the First Australian Imperial Force.[1]

Early life[edit]

Punch was Wiradjuri, born in the Bland River region of New South Wales on 31 March 1880.[2]

He was the sole survivor of the Bland Creek massacre, near west Wyalong that occurred shortly after his birth. A group of Wiradjuri people had allegedly killed and eaten local cattle introduced to the region by a group of cattlemen including John Siggs. They were massacred in retaliation. Siggs was not present at the massacre.[3] He is said to have discovered Punch as a baby among the bodies of his family, upon visiting the site the following morning, taking him to his home in Pejar.[4] Siggs told the story that he had brought the child back from north Queensland[5] to obscure this history of colonial violence or possibly to deter Punch from later seeking out any remaining family. Accounts from elderly Goulburn residents to local historians later discounted Punch’s north Queensland origins.[3][6] [1]

Punch was raised as part of the Siggs family in Goulburn, where he attended school. He was an accomplished cricketer and played the violin.[7] He then worked as a farm labourer.[8]

First World War[edit]

After the outbreak of the First World War, Punch enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Goulburn on 31 December 1915. Unlike many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who enlisted, Punch openly declared his identity as 'Aboriginal'.[9]

After training locally, he joined the 17th reinforcements to the 1st Battalion. He boarded the HMAT Ceramic on 14 April 1916, arriving in Egypt to train at Tel-el-Kebir.

At the end of July, he then went to England before sailing for France, where he joined the 1st Battalion in Erie Camp west of Ypres in Belgium. It is recorded that Punch committed the crime of "Losing by neglect his General Coat valued at 30/3” on 11 November 1916.[10] He was described as popular among the men and as the ‘mascot’ of his battalion.[11][8][12]

In September his battalion were in the front line, where he sustained a shrapnel wound to the head.[13] After recovering in Boulogne,[14] he re-joined his battalion who soon moved back to France. He was evacuated again with trench foot, returning to the battalion again in April 1917, where he was shot in his right buttock. Developing several other conditions, he deteriorated at Mont Dore Military Hospital[15] and died of pneumonia on 29 August,[16] at the age of 37. Shortly before medical staff helped him dictate his will, which he signed with an “X”.

He was buried with full military honours in East Cemetery at Boscombe in Bournemouth, plot X. 3. 185[17] with a firing party from the New Zealand Engineers. Wreaths were sent by friends, patients and medical staff who cared for Punch.[2]

Legacy[edit]

Punch's story is exhibited at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. It was told as part of the Last Post Ceremony on 3 December 2014.[18] His name is featured on the Crookwell War Memorial.[19]

Punch's story has gained prominence with growing recognition of the contribution and service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia's military history.[20][21] It was the subject of a local theatre production by the Lieder Theatre Company in Goulburn in 2015.[22] Punch was painted by artist Vincent Namatjira as part of the APY Art Centre Collective's touring exhibition Weapons for the Soldier in 2018.[23]

Notes[edit]

1.^ His service records show his birth place as Queensland.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bell, Michael; Grant, Lachlan (2018). For Country, for Nation: An illustrated history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military service. p. 89.
  2. ^ a b "William Punch | Australian War Memorial". www.awm.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Aborigine survives family massacre but dies in war | Anzac Portal". anzacportal.dva.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  4. ^ Kirkman, Laini (18 July 2019). "WWI Aboriginal soldier William Punch defies all odds". The Inverell Times. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Goulburn and the War". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1917. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 24 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Speer, Albert (1993). "William Joseph Punch 31.3.1884 – 29.8 1917". Journal of the Goulburn and District Historical Society (267 & 271).
  7. ^ "THE JUNCTION SOCIAL". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 2 January 1909. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b Histories, Indigenous (12 June 2013). "WILLIAM PUNCH OF GOULBURN: ABORIGINAL 'MASCOT OF HIS BATTALION'". Indigenous Histories. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  9. ^ PUNCH William Joseph : Service Number – 5435 : Place of Birth – N/A NSW : Place of Enlistment – Goulburn NSW : Next of Kin – (Friend) GALLAGHER Oswald. 1914–1920.
  10. ^ Sedgwick, Cathy (2019). "Bournemouth East Cemetery, Bournemouth, Dorset War Graves" (PDF).
  11. ^ "GOULBURN AND THE WAR". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 14 March 1916. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 25 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Sam Square's Budget". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 22 September 1917. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 25 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ ""PUNCH" WOUNDED". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 5 October 1916. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 24 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "GOULBURN AND THE WAR". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 19 July 1917. p. 4 (EVENING). Retrieved 24 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "PTE. PUNCH DANGEROUSLY ILL". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 10 July 1917. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 24 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "LATE PTE. PUNCH". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1917. p. 2 (EVENING). Retrieved 25 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Private William Joseph Punch (unknown-1917) – Find..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  18. ^ "The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (5435) Private William Joseph Punch 1st Battalion, AIF, First World War". www.awm.gov.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  19. ^ "William Punch: An Aboriginal soldier in the First World War". Places of Pride. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  20. ^ MURPHY, BRITTANY (24 April 2015). "William Punch, a story untold". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Indigenous Histories". Indigenous Histories. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  22. ^ Lamb, Jennifer (2015). "William Punch: A Goulburn War Story". AIATSIS.
  23. ^ Galvin, Nick (13 November 2018). "Indigenous soldiers out of the shadows". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  24. ^ "William Joseph PUNCH". vwma.org.au. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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