David Hawker (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too would like to recognise the incredible contribution of Private Ted Kenna VC and note that it was just two days after his 90th birthday, on 8 July, that Ted passed away. Ted was a resident of Hamilton, which is in my electorate. He was widely known and highly regarded by many, many people right throughout the region and indeed, as we have heard, right throughout Australia.

Ted was an amazing person. He was most unassuming, but one of those people who could display the true qualities of someone who would look after his mates. As we have heard, his act of bravery was quite remarkable. He was the Bren gunner of his platoon and when the platoon was held down, with no hesitation and no thought for his own life, he stood up in full view of the enemy and cleared the machine gun post that was holding down the platoon. When the Bren gun ran out of ammunition, he then called for and was thrown a .303, with which he continued to do the job of taking out the machine gun post. The story is remarkable in that he did not even flinch when bullets were not only passing between his arm and his body but in fact went through his shirt leaving holes in it. Ted’s valour is an extraordinary story, but, in his most unassuming way, he would never claim to have done anything more than was expected of him. It was also recorded that he was promoted temporarily from the rank of private to lance corporal, a position he was not comfortable with, and in fact he asked to return to the rank of private. As the rest of the story goes he was very badly wounded. Nonetheless his example has stood as something that is highly regarded.

The thing about Ted as a remarkable Australian is that he had a very strong commitment to veterans, not only locally but right throughout Australia. In his later years he made a great effort and travelled a lot to try to assist other veterans. His other great commitment to the community in later life was to visit schools. Again, he made a great impression on many young people by talking to them in his own laconic way about some of his experiences, helping them to have a better understanding of the contribution that so many made during World War II, particularly in the Pacific theatre.

He was always unassuming and when questioned about his experiences, as his daughter, Marlene Day, said, he was modest when he talked about his own Victoria Cross, which he was awarded for gallantry. Ms Day said:

He’s always said to me that he’s proud to wear it, but he wears it for every soldier because he says everyone contributes to those sorts of things.

That really encapsulates Ted. That is the way he was. He did not want to be glorified for what he did; he felt that he was just doing it to try to help his mates.

There were, of course, a couple of other things about Ted. He was a very good footballer. After the war, when he recovered from his injuries, he took up football again locally, and in the 1947 grand final, in the Western Border Football League, Ted was playing for Hamilton. The scores were level in the last quarter with the siren about to ring. It is said that Ted ‘just seemed to come out of nowhere from across the ground, kicked a point and Hamilton got its premiership.’ When he was on the ground he was never backward in coming forward.

In the eulogy at the state funeral, Major General Maitland told many things about the wonderful activities of Ted, but he spoke in particular of the unfailing humility that kept Ted from ever telling his story in any detail. It was a quality that sat alongside his respect for the supreme award of military bravery. Major General Maitland said, ‘He recognised the stature of being a Victoria Cross holder, but he sought no glamour, no reward. He wore it with empathy and he wore it for all of those who fought with him.’ As he said, he always reckoned he was just doing his job.

I have been very fortunate to, in a very small way, be involved in helping Hamilton have a lasting tribute to Ted Kenna. Back in 1988 we arranged to get Sir William Dargie, the famous Australian portrait painter who I think won eight Archibald prizes, to agree to paint Ted Kenna’s portrait, and that now hangs in the Performing Arts Centre in Hamilton in the Ted Kenna room. So we have a lasting memory of Ted Kenna in Hamilton. I can assure colleagues that the people of Hamilton have very fond memories of Ted and the contribution he has made in so many ways, but most of all of course his remarkable bravery during World War II and the award of the Victoria Cross for that wonderful act of bravery. I, like others, would say how much our thoughts are with Marj, his wife, and with his children and grandchildren.

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