Pro Patria Commemorating Service
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PRO PATRIA COMMEMORATING SERVICE Forward Representative Colonel Governor of South Australia His Excellency the Honorable Hieu Van Le, AO Colonel Commandant The Royal South Australia Regiment Brigadier Tim Hannah, AM Commanding Officer 10th/27th Battalion The Royal South Australia Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Graham Goodwin Chapter Title One Regimental lineage Two Colonial forces and new Federation Three The Great War and peace Four The Second World War Five Into a new era Six 6th/13th Light Battery Seven 3rd Field Squadron Eight The Band Nine For Valour Ten Regimental Identity Eleven Regimental Alliances Twelve Freedom of the City Thirteen Sites of significance Fourteen Figures of the Regiment Fifteen Scrapbook of a Regiment Sixteen Photos Seventeen Appointments Honorary Colonels Regimental Colonels Commanding Officers Regimental Sergeants Major Nineteen Commanding Officers Reflections 1987 – 2014 Representative Colonel His Excellency the Honorable Hieu Van Le AO Governor of South Australia His Excellency was born in Central Vietnam in 1954, where he attended school before studying Economics at the Dalat University in the Highlands. Following the end of the Vietnam War, His Excellency, and his wife, Lan, left Vietnam in a boat in 1977. Travelling via Malaysia, they were one of the early groups of Vietnamese refugees to arrive in Darwin Harbour. His Excellency and Mrs Le soon settled in Adelaide, starting with three months at the Pennington Migrant Hostel. As his Tertiary study in Vietnam was not recognised in Australia, the Governor returned to study at the University of Adelaide, where he earned a degree in Economics and Accounting within a short number of years. In 2001, His Excellency’s further study earned him a Master of Business Administration from the same university. His Excellency gained Certified Practising Accountant accreditation, and from 1991 worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, where he led many high-profile matters. Upon his retirement from the Commission in March 2009, he held the position of Senior Manager – Financial Services Regulation. His Excellency has served on many community boards and committees, in particular those relating to cultural and linguistic diversity, the arts and education. In 1995 Mr Le was appointed a member to the SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2001. When His Excellency became Chairman in 2007, he was the first person of Asian background to be Chairman. His Excellency resigned from the Commission in August 2014. In August 2007, His Excellency was sworn in as the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia. Over the next seven years in this role, His Excellency served as the Patron or Honorary member of more than thirty organisations. On 1 September 2014, His Excellency was sworn in as Governor of South Australia. It is understood that His Excellency is the first Vietnamese-born person who has ever been appointed to a Vice-Regal position in the world. His Excellency was awarded the Australia Day Medal in 1996 for outstanding service to Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and has been awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal for service to the advancement of multiculturalism. On Australia Day 2010, His Excellency was appointed as an Officer in the Order of Australia for service to the community in South Australia. He has also been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from both Adelaide University and Flinders University. His Excellency is married to Mrs Lan Le, with whom he has two adult sons, Don and Kim. The Representative Colonel of the Royal South Australia Regiment His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO Governor of South Australia It is with great pleasure, and honour, that I assume the appointment as Representative Colonel for the Royal South Australia Regiment. I have been preceded in this duty by many remarkable people and have, through my previous appointment as the Lieutenant Governor, had the opportunity to interact with the Regiment on occasion. This year marks the commencement of the Great War of 1914 – 18 and the raising of the 10th Battalion Australian Imperial Forces for that conflict, and their subsequent departure on the 20th October 1914 and the 50th Anniversary of the laying up of the Colours of the 27th, 43rd and 48th Battalions in 1964. As this year draws to a close, the Regiment will prepare for and undertake what will undoubtedly be most significant event in not just this State but across Australia and New Zealand with the commemorations associated with the centenary of the landing at Gallipoli on the 25th April 2015. The history of the military presence within South Australia has been that of trials and tribulations through the 19th and 20th centuries with many significant events. The Infantry of South Australia were amongst the first to South Africa and the Boer War, the 10th Battalion Australian Imperial Forces was one of the first Battalions within the 3rd Brigade ashore at Gallipoli, and the 2/48th Battalion Australian Imperial Forces was the most decorated Battalion of the Second World War. The Artillery and Engineers, who have recently come under command of the Regiment, have just as strong a history with both Corps playing an important role in establishing the State defences within the Colonies of Tasmania and South Australia, distinguished service at Gallipoli and the European theatres and onto the harsh conditions of the Middle East and South West Pacific during the Second World War. While the major conflicts of the 20th Century are the most heralded, many soldiers of the Regiment have also seen service in Korea and Viet Nam through to the more recent operational environments of East Timor and Solomon Islands. These are just some of our notable achievements but it must not be forgotten that the Regiment continues to support the community by assisting in disaster relief and ceremonial activities such as Gun Salutes and the community support by the oldest military band in Australia Army. The 10th/27th Battalion, The Royal South Australia Regiment Band. I thank the men and women of South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales who form the Regiment for their service, and praise their efforts as they continue to uphold the customs and traditions of the Australian Army and uphold the core values of the Australian Soldier. Pro Patria Colonel Commandant Brigadier Tim Hanna, AM Tim Hanna was born at Gumeracha, South Australia on 23 November 1959. After completing his secondary education at Birdwood High School, Tim entered the Royal Military College in 1977 graduating in 1980 into the Royal Australian Corps of Transport. Tim served in a range of regimental and instructional appointments in Puckapunyal, Melbourne and Townsville before deploying to the Middle East as a military observer with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. During this posting, Tim was appointed as the Senior Liaison Officer on the Golan Heights throughout the first Gulf War. On his return to Australia, Tim was posted to Sydney where he completed a number of staff appointments with the Army and Navy as well as attending the Royal Australian Navy Staff College. Tim left the Regular Army in 1999 and settled in Adelaide. After a short break from military service Tim resumed in the Army Reserve in January 2001. His subsequent instructional and command postings eventually resulted in Tim being promoted to Brigadier in January 2006 and assuming the position of Commander of the 9th Brigade and Army Area Representative-South Australia. After completing two subsequent national postings Tim transferred to the Standby Reserve in December 2010. Since 1999, Tim has worked in various senior management roles in private industry; initially with TNT and then, for eight years, with Telstra. During this period Tim held a number of regional and national management positions. Between March 2008 and August 2012, Tim worked in the construction industry as the Commercial and Systems Manager for BMD Constructions. Then, after completing two consultancy projects for Telstra and the Department of Defence, Tim took up his current role as the Toll Group’s Project Manager for the Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project in Western Australia. He is responsible for logistics support to the project’s Barrow Island operations. As a graduate of the University of New South Wales, Tim was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Military Studies in 1980. In 1994 Tim graduated from the Royal Australian Navy Staff College. Additionally, Tim undertook private study and completed a Master of Business Administration at the Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales in 1998. In addition to his civilian and Army Reserve careers, Tim served for three years as the President of the Royal United Services Institute of South Australia, an organisation which seeks to promote understanding of national defence and security matters. Tim was a member of the SA Peacekeepers Sub-Branch of the Returned & Services League in South Australia for several years including as Secretary and was elected as the inaugural President of the Adelaide Sub- branch in January 2011. Tim was elected to the State Board in July 2011 and assumed the position of State President of the Returned & Services League in South Australia in July 2012. For his contribution to the development of operational capabilities within and outstanding leadership of the Army Reserve, Tim Hanna was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2009 Australia Day Honours. Tim’s leisure interests are cricket and Australian football, keeping fit, travel and military history. Tim has a 27 year-old daughter who works as a lawyer in Melbourne. Tim’s partner, Suzie, works for the Department of Defence as a Finance Manager and is also an Army Reservist. Suzie’s two sons are members of the Royal Australian Air Force and Army Reserve respectively.