Death of Mr William Evan Allan
| About this Item |
Subjects | Ex-Servicemen; Obituaries; World War 1914 - 1918 |
Speakers | Iemma Mr Morris; Debnam Mr Peter |
Business | Condolence, Ministerial Statement |
Commentary | William Allan |
Page: 18730
Ministerial Statement
Mr MORRIS IEMMA (Lakemba—Premier, Treasurer, and Minister for Citizenship) [2.15 p.m.]: I am sure that all honourable members will support me in paying tribute to the memory of William Evan Allan, able seaman, the last surviving Australian to see service in the First World War, whose death at 106 years of age has been confirmed by Veterans Affairs officials. William Allan was not the last of a few; he was the last of the many. He was the last of that glorious generation of young Australians who went valiantly and eagerly to fight in a terrible war. They fought in the service of their country and in the service of ideals of nationhood and elective democracy that had barely taken root in their homeland when they were called to defend those values on foreign soil.
As I said, William Allan was 106 years old. He was born in the last year of the nineteenth century and lived into the twenty-first century. That his fellow Australians grew and prospered during his lifetime, building a robust and vigorous democracy on this soil, owes much to the sacrifice and example of William Allan and all those who served beside him. Their ranks are diminishing steadily. Last year we farewelled Marcel Caux, who went to war at 16 and was awarded the Legion of Honour by the people of France. The records show that only John Campbell Ross of Bendigo, who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces in February 1918 but saw no active service before the war was over, is still among us. We remember them all with gratitude and pride.
Our sympathy, enriched by feelings of admiration, today goes out to the family and friends of William Evan Allan. He has joined the ranks of his fallen comrades. He is secure in the ranks of Australian heroes. We mourn his passing as we honour and celebrate the achievements of his generation.
Mr PETER DEBNAM (Vaucluse—Leader of the Opposition) [2.18 p.m.]: All Coalition members of Parliament join the Premier in lauding the service of William Allan. As the Premier said, he was from Victoria. Today he died at the age of 106, having been born in Bega in July 1899. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as a boy sailor at the outbreak of World War I and served as a member of the crew of HMAS Encounter from 1915 until 1918. On the Encounter he sailed in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, escorting troop ship convoys to Colombo. He took part in the search for the German raider Wolf, which was causing havoc among allied shipping. Mr Allan remained in the Navy for 34 years, serving again during World War II.
In 1928 an incident was recorded involving William being washed overboard from the focsle of HMAS Australia and spending three minutes in the water before being rescued. That is an extraordinary feat. I would not be surprised if it were longer than three minutes before the crew either turned the ship around or got back to him with a boat. In 1947 William retired, having attained the rank of lieutenant. As the Premier said, these men and women were an inspiration to all Australians. They have been the real community heroes for so many decades. We simply do not say thank you often enough for that 34 years of service to Australia by those who made a commitment to the nation for virtually the whole of their working lives. I join the Premier in saying that we are indebted to them all.