Legacy of three great Aussies will live on

It is sometimes argued that Australia’s greatest generation were those born in the two decades before World War II. Three of that generation passed away over the past week. One was Barry Humphries, the creator of Dame Edna Everage, the most famous housewife in the world and a resident of Moonee Ponds, my neck of the woods.

Just a few metres from my electorate office is Everage St, named after the grand dame, where locals have been laying flowers since news of her creator’s death.

As reported by the Herald Sun this week, I would love to see a statue of Dame Edna to watch on as locals shop.

On a less theatrical but no less dashing note, this week I farewelled a great friend and Australian who deserves our thanks.

As I represented the Prime Minister at Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service on Tuesday, I thought about Laurie Larmer, who was a Moonee Ponds teenager in 1941 when he signed up to fight in WWII.

Laurie joined the RAAF and became part of Britain’s Royal Air Force 51 Bomber Squadron, which played a key part in the allied push to liberate Europe.

More than 4000 young Australians died in the air war over Europe – Laurie knew he was lucky to survive.

While making no apologies for answering the call of his nation he did not glorify war, because he knew the true collateral damage of battle was the loss of innocent lives.

At the age of 92, on the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, Laurie wrote to the mayors of German towns he had bombed to say that he deeply regretted what had happened. Not the need to defeat Hitler and fascism, but the sad loss of civilian life.

The response was overwhelming. The mayors replied, and his letter was used in schools as a lesson on the futility of war and the fragility of peace.

The third member of the “greatest generation” we lost was Father Bob Maguire, aged 88. The rebel with a wicked sense of humour, who would poke fun at those in power but never stopped fighting for those without power.

As a 15-year-old student in 1983 I spent a week with Bob, and could not help but be affected by his kindness, caring and advocacy for the downtrodden and outcast.

It was with great sadness then that I say vale, Father Bob Maguire, Laurie Larmer and Barry Humphries.