Inspired by Army
ALEC Illin was only in the Army for five years but he reckoned the lessons learned there set him up for life.
The Bindal elder was born in Townsville but grew up in Ingham.
“I had seven brothers and five sisters and our parents looked after us quite well,” he said.
“The rest of my time has been back in Townsville.”
Alec was called up to the Army in 1965 and went to Malaysia in 1966 to 1967 then Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. He was discharged in 1970.
“I loved it because of the friendships that I held with all the soldiers, though sometimes it was very hard when you saw your friend not being able to go home.
“The majority of time I loved it.”
Alec became Townsville City Council’s first Aboriginal liaison officer and he said that’s where he was introduced to the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who mainly lived in the park.
“If it wasn’t for my army training I wouldn’t have achieved a lot of what I achieved,” he said. “I had the knowledge and a broader understanding of what was required of myself while being employed.”
Alec went on to work for the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for 10 years. He was involved with both state and commonwealth departments as well as the police.
“I had a very wide function that required me to be available at times to speak to a lot of agencies and organisations in and around Townsville, and I held a lot of positions within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities.”
Alec, who married a Palm Island girl called Theresa with whom he had five children, is also heavily involved with the Garbutt Magpies Sporting Association. “It’s just been rejuvenated and I have a lot of respect for that,” he said.
He’s supposed to be retired now but is still involved in native title issues.
Alec thinks the old railway depot should be fixed up and believes the only way to stop the issue of drunks in the city is to restrict alcohol.