Sir John Monash: The Jewish Australian Who Became Australia’s Greatest General |
The Australian Everyone Knows — But Few Really Know
As an Australian, I wanted to write something about Sir John Monash – arguably the greatest general of the First World War, and certainly one of the greatest Australians.
A lot of Australians know the name Monash. They know Monash University. They drive on the Monash Freeway, there is even a Monash golf course near where I live. Many carry him around in their wallets without even thinking about it — Sir John Monash appears on Australia’s $100 note. But I think that today most Australians don’t know who he is.
The Son of Jewish Immigrants
Monash was born in Melbourne in 1865. Before the war he was an engineer, lawyer and intellectual — not the stereotypical military man at all. During the First World War there were people in the establishment who........