Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Reaching 100 years of age is an incredible milestone. In our roles as members of parliament, we often have the pleasure of meeting amazing people throughout our communities who have reached or exceeded a century of life. Today I want to highlight two who I have met in recent months, who both served our country in uniform.

It was a great pleasure to be invited to attend a 100th birthday lunch for Ernie, born in 1920. Ernie trained as a fitter and turner in Far North Queensland before joining the Royal Australian Navy in 1941, finishing up as a chief petty officer. Ernie saw combat in the Second World War on board the destroyer attached to the British far eastern fleet, working on the guns on HMAS Quickmatch. They covered the area from the bottom of South Africa to India and Sri Lanka. Later on they had a hand in the recapture of Okinawa in Japan. In 1944 Ernie received a commendation for removing a misfired round from one of the guns. It was a tense moment, where he cleared all personnel from the area to retrieve it and throw it overboard. After discharging from the navy in 1946, he worked at the sugar mills and contributed to the community for many decades, ultimately ending up in Townsville. At a birthday party surrounded by family and friends at the Cowboys Leagues Club, you wouldn't have known Ernie was anywhere near 100. He was extremely pleased when I presented him a birthday present: a signed bottle of wine from ScoMo. It wasn't too long until I was invited to another lunch with Ernie, this time at the RSL. RSL Queensland was keen to recognise Ernie's 100th birthday milestone with a lunch at the Townsville Sub Branch, and gave him a special certificate.

I also want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to another inspirational member of the Townsville community: 103-year-old Colin. He is a well-known Magnetic Island local, who served on the Kokoda Track and in Borneo. It was a great honour to be invited by some of his closest friends for a special presentation. Colin had been nominated to receive one of the Australian government's medallions and certificates of commemoration. This has been a fantastic initiative to recognise the significance of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and is available to every living veteran of that conflict. Despite growing a bit old—he's now in high care—Colin was extremely pleased to have received the well-deserved token of appreciation, which he now displays proudly in his room next to a photo of him all dressed up wearing his many other medals. Townsville has many fantastic locals, and these two are true heroes of our community.