Indigenous Veteran Stands Firm After Anzac Day Booing

When Indigenous elder and army veteran Di Ryder began her Welcome to Country at Perth's Anzac Day dawn service, a few voices in the crowd tried to shout her down. But she didn't flinch.

Ms. Ryder paused, repeated her words with quiet dignity, and continued honoring the thousands of Indigenous Australians who have served since the Boer War in 1899. The moment could have descended into chaos, but instead it became something powerful.

RSL WA chief executive Stephen Barton immediately told the crowd "we will not be bullied." Police issued move-on notices to five people who heckled. Thousands of attendees stayed silent in respect, letting Ms. Ryder's message ring clear.

"I had a right to be standing up there as a veteran and also a Noongar elder," Ms. Ryder told ABC Radio after the service. She admitted the heckling was distracting and that she felt mortified it happened on a day meant to honor service and sacrifice.

But she also said something shifted that morning. "As an Aboriginal person, you just accept that this is the way things will go until we make a stand, like the RSL did on Saturday," she explained.

RSL national president Peter Tinley called the booing "disgusting" and issued a direct apology to Ms. Ryder and every Indigenous person affected. More importantly, he made a call to action that resonated across Australia.

"If you see racism around, you've got to fight it where you find it," Mr. Tinley said. "If somebody next to you is booing and carrying on, you get the police's attention and you call them out."

Why This Inspires

What makes this moment powerful isn't just that leaders condemned the heckling. It's that they turned it into a teaching moment about active allyship. Mr. Tinley didn't just express sympathy. He gave everyday Australians a clear blueprint for standing up to racism in real time.

Ms. Ryder's speech honored a legacy often overlooked: Indigenous Australians have served in every conflict from the Boer War through World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and modern peacekeeping missions. Her presence at that microphone represented generations of service.

WA Premier Roger Cook noted that extremist elements were trying to "sow hatred" but that the community's response showed they wouldn't succeed. The vast majority who attended the dawn service came to honor sacrifice, not division.

Ms. Ryder acknowledged that Welcome to Country ceremonies can sometimes feel overused, but defended their place at memorial services. "This is a ceremony where we're honoring where we're standing, but it's also about the respect shown for those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that did serve," she said.

When the service ended, Governor Chris Dawson stood with Ms. Ryder in a photograph that captured the dignity of the moment. A few voices tried to disrupt unity, but thousands more chose to protect it.