Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

General Sir John Monash is one of our greatest Australians. An engineer, lawyer, citizen soldier and talented pianist, he was born in 1865 to Jewish Prussian parents. He attended Scotch College and Melbourne University, where he first joined the militia.

Monash served at Gallipoli. In 1918 he was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the Australian Corps. He was later promoted to general in 1929. His acclaimed success at the battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 has been described as follows: 'A war-winning combination had been found: a corps commander of genius,'—Monash—'the Australian infantry, the Tank Corps, the Royal Artillery and the RAF.' Monash was knighted by King George V on 12 August 1918 following the battle of Amiens, the first commander to be knighted in the field for 200 years.

But many believe he has not received proper recognition. Among these is former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fisher AC. In his excellent book on Monash he makes a strong case to posthumously elevate General Monash to the rank of field marshal. This is supported in my electorate of Mackellar, where there is a large groundswell of support, with strong involvement from a former member of my staff, Mrs Robyn Young. There can be no more appropriate time for this to be done than in this year, the Centenary of Anzac. To achieve this recognition by Remembrance Day would be most fitting as I believe we are long overdue to hear the name 'Field Marshal John Monash'.

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