Serving in Silence?

Associate Professor Noah Riseman specialises in the histories of marginalised people in the Australian military, particularly Indigenous and LGBTI people. He is the co-author of Defending Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Military Service since 1945 and author of Defending Whose Country? Indigenous Soldiers in the Pacific War. For the past four years he has been coordinating this Australian Research Council Discovery project documenting the history of LGBTI military service. Associate Professor Shirleene Robinson has published extensively on aspects of LGBTIQ history. She is also the President of Sydney’s Pride History Group. Her most recent publication is Gay and Lesbian, Then and Now: Stories from a Social Revolution (with Robert Reynolds). Dr Graham Willett is a recovering academic who has spent over 30 years teaching, researching and writing about the history of queer Australia. He is the author of Living Out Loud, a history of the Australian lesbian and gay movement since 1969.

To put service before self in our Nation’s name is the essence of being a member of our Defence Force. Such commitment is to be respected and honoured. Yet, for too long, our LGBT personnel served in silence. This book gives voice to men and women who served in the face of prejudice and discrimination. It is an affirmation of how Australia and its Defence Force are changing for the better." — Lieutenant General David Morrison, Former Chief of Army and 2016 Australian of the Year.