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Colonel Sir Ernest Edward " Weary" Dunlop, (12 July 1907 – 2 July 1993) was an Australian Surgery who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War.
He made his national representative debut against the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 23 July 1932 as a number 8. All Blacks Win, The (Rockhampton) Morning Bulletin, (Monday, 25 July 1932), p.10; All Blacks Defeat Australia, The Australasian, (Saturday, 30 July 1932), p.25.
In the first Test of 1934 he again appeared for Australia, this time as a lock Rugby Test: Australian Team: Three States Represented, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Tuesday, 7 August), p.9. Australia won the match 25–11. Australia Routs All Blacks in First Rugby Test, The (Sydney) Truth, (Sunday, 12 August 1934), p.6. Dunlop had broken his nose in a head clash in the Melbourne University boxing championships on 3 August 1934, University Boxing Finals, The Age, (Saturday, 4 August 1934), p.17; University Championships, The Argus, (Saturday, 4 August 1934), p.25; What an All-rounder!, The (Brisbane) Daily Standard, (Monday, 20 August 1934), p.6. and it was broken again in the first five minutes of the match. Played with Broken Nose, The Courier-Mail, (Tuesday, 14 August 1934), p.5.
Two weeks later the second and final match of that year's Bledisloe Cup series finished in a draw; and, although Dunlop missed that match – he was one of a number of players from both teams who were victims of influenza Rugby Football Casualties: Influenza Claims Victims, The Referee, (Thursday, 30 August 1934), p.12; Rugby Union Test Match, The Newcastle Sun, (Saturday, 25 August 1934), p.7. – he stands as a member of the first Wallaby squad to have won the Bledisloe Cup away from New Zealand.
In June 2008, he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame. To date, he is the only Victorian so honoured. Dunlop – Wallaby Hall of Fame
Because of his leadership skills, he was placed in charge of prisoner-of-war camps in Java, and was later transferred briefly to Changi Prison, and in January 1943 commanded the first Australians sent to work on the Thai segment of the Death Railway where prisoners of the Japanese were being used as Unfree labour to construct a strategically important supply route between Bangkok and Rangoon. Conditions in the railway camps were primitive and horrific—food was totally inadequate, beatings were frequent and severe, there were no medical supplies, tropical diseases were rampant, and the Japanese required a level of productivity that would have been difficult for fully fit and properly equipped men to achieve.
Along with a number of other Commonwealth Medical Officers, Dunlop's dedication and heroism became a legend among prisoners. A courageous leader and compassionate doctor, he restored morale in those terrible prison camps and jungle hospitals. Dunlop defied his captors, gave hope to the sick and eased the anguish of the dying. His example was one of the reasons why Australian survival rates were the highest.
He became, in the words of one of his men, the author Donald Stuart, "a lighthouse of sanity in a universe of madness and suffering".Dunlop, E.E., The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop, Thomas Nelson Australia, 1986
He is depicted in a lighter moment during these terrible times on a birthday card painted by Ashley George Old for Major Arthur Moon and now held at the State Library of Victoria.
Dunlop died in Melbourne in 1993. He had a state funeral held at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne which was attended by more than 20,000 people. Some of his ashes were scattered at Hellfire Pass in Thailand.
In 1988 Dunlop was named one of '200 Great Australians'. In June 2008, he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.
He received the posthumous honour of having the Canberra suburb of Dunlop named after him shortly after his death in 1993. His image is on the 1995 issue Australian fifty cent piece with the words "They Served Their Country in World War II, 1939 – 1945". The fifty cent piece is part of a set including the one dollar coin and the twenty cent piece. He has a platoon named after him in the Army Recruit Training Centre, Blamey Barracks, Kapooka. Weary Dunlop Platoon is a platoon for recruits to conduct their final medical appointments and other administration prior to discharging from the army.
He was on one of 1995 Australia Remembers 45c stamps.
Honours and awards
'Weary' Dunlop received many honours and awards throughout his life, including:
See also
Footnotes
(2026). 9780646524467, The Museum of Freemasonry Foundation Trust. ISBN 9780646524467
External links
Categories: 1907 Births, 1993 Deaths, Royal Australian Army Medical Corps Officers, Military Personnel From Victoria, People From Benalla, People From Wangaratta, Australian Army Personnel Of World War Ii, Australian Colonels, Australian Surgeons, Australian Prisoners Of War, World War Ii Prisoners Of War Held By Japan, Australian Of The Year Award Winners, Companions Of The Order Of Australia, Australian Companions Of The Order Of St Michael And St George, Australian Knights Bachelor, Australian Officers Of The Order Of The British Empire, Knights Of The Order Of St John, Australian Rugby Union Players, Australia International Rugby Union Players, Fellows Of The Royal College Of Surgeons Of England, Melbourne Medical School Alumni, Rugby Football People Awarded Knighthoods, Australian Military Doctors, Burma Railway Prisoners, Rugby Union Players From Victoria, Rugby Union Locks, Rugby Union Number Eights, 20th-century Australian Sportsmen, 20th-century Surgeons
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