Skip to main content
CommunityEducation and trainingGood News StoriesIndigenous

27 proud men and women are now defence force graduates – National Indigenous Times

By September 25, 2013October 19th, 2021No Comments
DIDP graduates 2013

Angus Knight was recently mentioned in the National Indigenous Times on the 25th September 2013. The article centres on the recent graduation and outcomes of participants from the Defence Indigenous Development Program (DIDP) in Batchelor, Northern Territory, of which Angus Knight was a key partner, providing mentoring support for the recruits in the program. The article describes the program as the ‘most successful DIDP yet’. This result reinforces recognition of the quality of Angus Knight projects, like the DIDP, and their positive impact in building the capabilities of individuals, organisations and communities, particularly in areas of Indigenous opportunity.

“Twenty-seven proud Indigenous men and women from across Australia marched off the parade ground earlier this month to become the latest graduates from the Defence Indigenous Development Program (DIDP).

In 2008, the Defence Science and Personnel Minister, Warren Snowdon gave the Australian Defence Force (ADF) an important mission and the extra funding to do it.

That mission was to lead a whole of government effort to train Indigenous youth from remote communities in order for them to gain the skills and confidence needed to gain full time employment and become leaders in their communities.

NORFORCE with over 30 years operating in remote communities in the North of Australia was the obvious choice to lead the program.

In 2013 the ADF teamed up with the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE), the mentoring company Angus Knight, the NT Police and the NT department of Transport to produce the most successful DIDP yet.

This year’s graduates are going on to a range of careers including: fulltime army, patrolling our north with NORFORCE, teaching, youth work, mining, security work and much more.

They are fit and disciplined young men and women who have proven to themselves how much they can do. They are a credit to themselves and to their communities.

The Defence Indigenous Development Program graduates (pictured above) were: Tina Ah Wing, Kelvin Bathern, Ernie Boona, Terina Bundamuura, Lance Conlon, Jeremy Cooper, Cameron Danischewsky, Samuel Davidson, Tyrese Dhurrkay, Cameron Djanghara, Thomas Fewre, Howard Fisher, Shari-Ann Gounder, Ben Lewis, Glen Lindner, Shane Lindner, Talia McMasters, Anneliese Porta, Liddell Ramsey, Ethan Southwell, Graham Steel, Brayden Stokes, Jeremy Tompkins, Tamara Waina, Jakob Wallace, William Wesley, Jarrod White.”

– Captain Paul Garrioch

Indigenous Times