Murray Watego was born in Sydney NSW, in 1885. He is one of four brothers and four sisters. His older brother George was also born in Sydney NSW in 1891, but home for the Watego family was Cudgen NSW in the Tweed Valley in the Northern Rivers District of New South Wales; “Bundjalung” Country. Throughout the decades many inter-tribal marriages took place and now the Watego family extend the length and breadth of Australia, particularly along the mid to north, east coast of Australia.   

When war broke out in Europe, Murray along with his brother George and Peter Knowles (Murray’s Brother-in-Law), enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in Brisbane, Queensland on April 26th 1916. Although very proud ‘Torres Strait Islander/ South Sea Islander’ descendants, in order to join the AIF like so many other Indigenous Australians, the brothers lied about their indigenous background. This no doubt was due to the racial discrimination that denied non-Europeans the right to enlist at the time. On enlistment, George the oldest brother was 25 years of age and Murray was 21years and 4 months (Australian Imperial Force Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad dated April 26th 1916/ Q7326-No: 2173 Murray Watego/ Q074 A55295-No: 5934 George Watego).

While both had previously been working as farm labourers, the brothers were probably motivated to enlist for various reasons. With soldiers receiving six shillings a day, the money would have provided an opportunity to help their family back in Cudgen, New South Wales. No doubt serving their country was also a way to be recognized as worthy citizens of Australia, something most Indigenous people did not experience at the time (SBS 2015).