Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Maurice "Bunny" Austin, (15 December 1916 – 13 October 1985) was an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

officer. He served in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, commanded the

2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR) is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. 2 RAR was initially formed as the A ...

in 1952, and led the

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since ...

in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in 1952–53. His appointments included Commandant of the Jungle Training Centre; Commander of the Logistic Support Force; Director of Personnel Services and honorary ADC to the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

. On retirement from the army he was appointed the Australian Army Historian where he researched and published works on the history of the army in Australia from 1788 to

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. The nickname "Bunny" comes from the fact that

Thomas Austin Thomas Austin may refer to: *Thomas Austin (pastoralist) (1815–1871), English settler who introduced rabbits into Australia * Thomas Austin (American football) (born 1986), former American football center * Thomas Austin (cricketer) (1857–1941) ...

(no relation) is believed to have been the first person to introduce

rabbits in Australia European rabbits (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') were first introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet, and later became widespread likely because of Thomas Austin (pastoralist), Thomas Austin. Such wild rabbit populations are a ...

. In 1940, Austin married Enid Veronica Lyons, the daughter of Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

and Dame Enid Lyons.

References

World War II Nominal Roll
* The Army in Australia 1840–50 (M. Austin), Australian Government Publishing Service, 1979. .

External links

Maurice "Bunny" Austin honours and awards page at Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial: PR86/062 – Papers of Maurice "Bunny" Austin

Austin, Maurice (Bunny) (1916–1985), by A. J. Hill
Australian Dictionary of Biography 1916 births 1985 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (state) Australian brigadiers Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian military personnel of the Korean War Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Geelong {{Australia-mil-bio-stub

See also

References

External links