George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to a resident in my electorate who holds the distinction of being Mackay's last Rat of Tobruk. On hearing the call to arms in 1939, Allan Skerman was among the first Australian volunteers and served in Sierra Leone and Giarabub, where he was wounded, before he was sent to Tobruk. According to the Australian War Memorial, all that stopped the Germans' march on Egypt was the defiant garrison at Tobruk:

For eight long months, surrounded by German and Italian forces, the men of the Tobruk garrison, mostly Australians, withstood tank attacks, artillery barrages, and daily bombings. They endured the desert's searing heat, the bitterly cold nights, and hellish dust storms. They lived in dug-outs, caves, and crevasses.

Such defiance earned them the title of 'Rats', intended as a slur by the Germans but worn as a badge of honour.

Allan Skerman returned to Australia and married Hilda, whom he had met before the war. He went to Cairns to work in the docks for the management of military cargo before joining the Air Force. He later worked for the repatriation department in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria until his later years, when he worked for the archives in Victoria.

On Friday, Allan Skerman will celebrate his 100th birthday with his son, four grandchildren and one great-grandson. Family and friends will celebrate Allan's 100 years of golf, fossicking, gem cutting, orchid growing, gardening and writing—he is the author of seven books. But North Queensland will pay special tribute to Allan for his service and the very great honour of being a Rat of Tobruk.

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