An accomplished Australian
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John Monash with daughter Bertha, and father Louis, 1894
(Photo courtesy of Monash University Archives) |
Sir John also painted and illustrated, was an accomplished pianist, spoke French and German, and enjoyed chess, carpentry and bushwalking.
With growing success in his business and military careers in the early 1900s, he became a pillar of Melbourne society.
He lectured and examined at the University of Melbourne, became chairman of the graduates association, was president of the University Club and was elected to the university council. He was also prominent in the Boy Scout movement and became president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers.
Following his triumphant return to Australia, many public demands were made on him. He became the natural spokesman for returned soldiers, from 1925 leading the annual Anzac Day march. From 1923 he was Vice-Chancellor of Melbourne University and from 1924-26 president of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science.
Sir John Monash died on 8 October 1931, aged 66. He is remembered as a scholar, a man of action and an individualist -- a man who sought, above all, to use his education and abilities for the benefit of the community.
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