Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to place on the Hansard record the death of James Kirkbride—or Jim, as he was known to his family and friends. While his name may not be familiar in this place, Jim Kirkbride will be forever part of Australia’s history. He was part of that very special generation of Australians, because Jim was a Rat of Tobruk. With his passing, Australia has lost another living connection with our military history in which Jim played a significant role. I have great respect for all our veterans and Jim was no exception. I was fortunate to have known Jim personally for many years. He was a man very proud of his family and a man of integrity who was highly respected within his community, and yet he was very unassuming about his service to Australia.

It is this trait that is all too common in our dedicated servicemen and women, whereby they believe they have done nothing special. All our defence personnel through history step forward to serve our country with an overwhelming sense of pride, honour and duty. Jim was no different. To Jim, it was a badge of honour to be part of this duty and to show loyalty to the country in which he lived.

While World War I is said to have started the process of shaping our national identity, World War II further cemented Australia’s unique character in our history books. Courage, determination, selfless sacrifice and mateship were the traits which were ever so evident among the soldiers at the Battle of Tobruk. The Tobruk legacy, which Jim was part of, will remain in our history books as one of Australia’s great military victories. Just as the tactical withdrawal from Gallipoli was a major victory for Australia, so too was the defeat of the Germans at the siege of Tobruk. During the eight long months of the siege, the messages home to loved ones were that they would not survive. Defeat was not an option and, true to the spirit of the Anzacs, Jim and his fellow Rats of Tobruk defied the odds.

In closing, I take this opportunity to extend my sympathies to Jim’s widow, Eileen, and his children and grandchildren. Although his family are mourning the loss of a husband, a father and a grandfather, they should be comforted in the knowledge that his legacy will forever be etched in the hearts and minds of all Australians. Tomorrow in Roma, the town in which he spent his life, a service to honour his life will be held at St Paul’s Anglican Church. Unfortunately, I cannot join the congregation, but I will be there in prayer and thought as our town and his family farewell a great Australian and acknowledge the passing of that great person, Jim Kirkbride, a Rat of Tobruk.