Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, I was very pleased to be able to attend the Reg Rattey VC Tri-Service Club at Larrakeyah Barracks in my electorate. They held a marvellous celebration in honour of the late Reginald 'Reg' Roy Rattey, Victoria Cross winner, last week, on what would have been his 102nd birthday. Celebrating this fantastic milestone and the unveiling of a fantastic portrait of Reg by artist George Petrou were Reg's children, Rob, Carmel and Helen, and some other family members.

Also there was author Michael Madden, who has recently published a book called The Victoria Cross: Australia Remembers. Michael informed us that the last surviving widow of a World War II Victoria Cross recipient is 99-year-old Mrs Daphne Dunne from Kirribilli in New South Wales. Daphne's late husband, Albert Chowne, VC, MM, was just 25 years old when he died in a courageous attack on a Japanese machine-gun post in Papua New Guinea. Albert was awarded the Victoria Cross medal posthumously.

Daphne is currently unwell in hospital in Sydney, so we send her our very best wishes. I will speak to the member for North Sydney and I'm sure that, if the family agrees, he would go and visit Daphne, the last surviving widow— (Time expired)