Graham John Edwards AM was born on 18 July 1946 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. After school, Graham worked for five years as a railway fireman, including time in Katanning where he played football for the now defunct Katanning Australs Football Club. Inspired by a sense of adventure, and the others in his family who had served, he left Katanning and joined the Australian Army in 1968. (Graham Edwards’ Vietnam War Record)
Informal portrait of 519806 Private Graham John Edwards, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), holding a self loading rifle (SLR) during a training exercise in Australia
In 1970, Graham deployed to South Vietnam. He served as a machine gunner with an assault pioneer platoon of the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR). The unit’s role was to seek out and destroy the enemy, while preventing enemy access to the civilian population. The work was demanding and very dangerous.
Graham was warned that the biggest danger would be landmines. In May 1970, while out on patrol, his life changed dramatically when he stepped on a ‘jumping jack‘ mine. He remembered the excruciating pain that came over him as he waited for his mates to clear a path for his rescue. Back home, his wife Noelene received the bad news in a short telegram.
Graham was flown home three weeks after both legs were amputated. He was embraced by his loved ones but went through an emotional and confronting time. He recalled his homecoming as being somewhat underwhelming.
Disappointment and anger intensified when he felt the rehabilitation he was offered was inadequate, incompetent, and humiliating. He felt he was considered a problem and that the Army wanted to push him and others like him out of the services to become somebody else’s problem.
Graham did not let his disability get the better of him. He met every challenge head on. He educated himself and, driven by veterans’ welfare, moved into public affairs and politics.
In 1983, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council. After 14 years in state parliament, he was elected to the federal House of Representatives in the West Australian seat of Cowan in 1998.
In 2005, Graham recalled a visit to the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Canberra:
“It was a humbling yet balancing experience particularly when you know that but for the Grace of God and a bit of luck your name could well be up there with the others who lost their lives in that unfortunate war.”
[Graham Edwards, quoted in the Fifty Australians exhibition, Australian War Memorial,
19 August to 23 October 2005]
In later life, Graham was a member of the Australian Republican Movement, maintaining a strong and active involvement in defence, disability services and veterans’ issues.
In 2012, Graham was made a Member of the Order of Australia for ‘service to the Parliaments of Australia and Western Australia, to veterans through advocacy and support roles, and to people with a disability’.
DVA (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) (2022 ), Graham Edwards’s story, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 30 August 2024, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/stories/oral-histories/graham-edwardss-story
Graham John Edwards AM
Edwards lines up for national title
The Senior
24 May 2018
VETERAN’S advocate Graham Edwards says he is proud to represent WA “and the wonderful volunteer ethic that exists in our state” after being named Western Australia’s Senior Australian of the Year 2016. He said he would use the opportunity to highlight the needs of veterans.
“I will try to give higher profile on their needs and indeed the needs of senior Australians,” Graham said. “One of the matters I would like to push is the need for us to bridge the generation gap between older and younger Australians. It seems to me that the incredible technology in terms of smart phones, internet and so on is leaving many seniors somewhat behind.”
While serving in Vietnam in 1970, Graham was hit by an exploding mine. Both his legs were amputated, but he never let disability get the better of him. Returning to civilian life, he battled the aftershocks of war and fought discrimination before moving into public affairs and politics.
He spent 14 years on the WA Legislative Council, including as a senior minister, and nine years in federal parliament, actively contributing to defence, disability services and veterans’ policy. While juggling his parliamentary responsibilities, Graham devoted many hours to his twin passions, the Paralympic movement and veterans’ rights.
Today, as state president of the Returned and Services League of Australia, the 69-year-old oversees a membership base of 10,000 people, sits by bedsides, lobbies government for funding, and organises events to commemorate the sacrifice made by many.
He was named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012. A board member of the Australian War Memorial, Graham strives to ensure the nation’s war heroes gain the recognition they deserve.
Graham John Edwards AM
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Edwards attended Leederville Technical College, and worked for five years as a railway fireman before joining the Australian Regular Army in 1968. He was sent to Vietnam, where he was a member of the assault pioneer platoon of 7RAR.
On 12 May 1970, near Route 326, between Tam Phuoc and Long My, Pte Edwards’ platoon moved into an area where mines had been laid. Unknown to the platoon, the mines had been recovered by the Vietcong and re-laid. An M16 mine exploded, wounding three men; both Edwards’s legs had to be amputated.
He did not let his disability get the better of him. Years later he recalled a visit to the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Canberra: “It was a humbling yet balancing experience particularly when you know that but for the Grace of God and a bit of luck your name could well be up there with the others who lost their lives in that unfortunate war”.
When he returned to civilian life, veterans’ welfare became a vital cause for him and he also moved into public affairs and politics. In 1983 he was elected as a Labor member to the Western Australian Legislative Council. After 14 years in State Parliament, he entered Federal Parliament in 1998, being elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Cowan, in Western Australia. Edwards has held ministerial appointments and served on parliamentary committees. He is also a member of the Australian Republican Movement, and maintains a strong and active involvement in defence, disability services, and veterans’ issues.