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{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
|name=Bruce Caryle Ruxton
|name=Bruce Caryle Ruxton
|image = [[File:BruceRuxton.jpg]]
|allegiance=[[Australia]]
|allegiance=[[Australia]]
|rank=[[Private (rank)|Private]]
|rank=[[Private (rank)|Private]]

Revision as of 07:10, 23 December 2011

Bruce Caryle Ruxton
File:BruceRuxton.jpg
Born(1926-02-06)6 February 1926
Died23 December 2011(2011-12-23) (aged 85)
Queensland, Australia
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchAustralian Army
Years of service1944–1949
RankPrivate
Unit2/25 Australian Infantry Battalion 7th Division
Battles/warsWorld War II

South West Pacific
Netherlands East Indies
Balikpapan

AwardsMBE, OBE, AM, Chevalier of Order of Merit, Légion d'honneur.
Other workPresident of the Victorian Returned and Services League


Bruce Caryle Ruxton AM, OBE (6 February 1926 - 23 December 2011) was an Australian ex-serviceman and former President of the Victorian Returned and Services League.

Early life

Ruxton grew up in Kew, Victoria. He attended Melbourne High School.

War service

Ruxton enlisted in the Australian Army on 22 February 1944 and served in the Second World War in the South West Pacific Area, the Netherlands East Indies and Balikpapan in Borneo, and for three years he served in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, as a rifleman in the 2/25 Australian Infantry Battalion of the 7th Division. He was discharged on 12 January 1949 but was not promoted beyond Private.

Representing the war veterans

After his war service, he became a vocal spokesman on behalf of war veterans and their families, ensuring they received their pensions and entitlements. As the Second World War veterans grew older, he lobbied on their behalf regarding issues such as nursing homes and retirement accommodation.

In 1975 he received the MBE, the OBE in 1981, the AM in 1996, and in 1997 the Chevalier of Order of Merit from Jacques Chirac. Also he received the Légion d'honneur.

Following two years of ill-health due to viral pneumonia contracted during a visit to Boer War sites Ruxton resigned from the RSL in June 2002.

Death

He died on the 23 December 2011 following the development of dementia later in life. He was 85.

Advocacy

Along with RSL National President, Brigadier Alf Garland, Ruxton was a staunch opponent of the Multifunction Polis (MFP), a Japanese funded technology city proposed in 1987 for the north of Adelaide. Ruxton said it would become "a Jap City".[1]

In 1980 Ruxton achieved national media coverage with his strong criticism of the Northcote City Council in Victoria, after strongly left-wing Councillors supported a number of policies that were anathema to those traditionally held by the RSL. These included the flying of the Eureka flag rather than the Australian flag from the Northcote Town Hall, and support for an Australian republic.[2] Ruxton claimed 'ethnics and anti-British elements' were responsible for a lack of patriotism.[3] Ruxton was also incensed at the refusal of Scottish-born Councillor Brian Sanaghan to renew his oath of allegiance to the Queen after being re-elected to the Northcote Council in 1980.[4] Pressure from Ruxton resulted in Sanaghan's place on the Council being declared vacant, for Sanaghan was attending and voting at meetings of the Council's ALP Caucus while not permitted to vote at meetings of the Council itself as he had not taken the oath.[5] Sanaghan later served as an electorate officer for Phil Cleary, who was for a short time a Member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Wills.

Equally notorious was Ruxton's designation of Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu as a 'witch doctor' during the latter's visit to Victoria in 1986, an outburst he later acknowledged that he regretted.[6]

In the 1998 Constitutional Convention for the Republic he represented monarchist group Safeguard the People.[7] On 31 January 1992, Ruxton stated that the RSL and its membership: "will never agree to this country becoming a republic. We are proud to be associated with the Queen, who is our patron, and who, as this country's head of State, has never once put a foot wrong. Show me a politician with such a record."[8] Ruxton has consistently argued that the Australian flag and the Queen, as our head of state, guarantee that Australia will remain a free democracy, and that a republican form of government in Australia could become totalitarian.[9]

In 1991, Ruxton appeared on the Nine Network's Midday television show with host Ray Martin, to advocate Australia remaining a monarchy, in a live televised debate with singer Normie Rowe and radio broadcaster Ron Casey. The debate got out of hand, with Normie Rowe and Ron Casey physically brawling on live TV. The following day, Ruxton said: "As for Ron Casey, he deserved a good punch in the nose. He certainly did not do his cause any good. We have enough problems to fix up without arguing and fighting over whether Australia should become a republic." [10]

A character originally from Australia You're Standing In It (and later in Fast Forward), Bruce Rump, was based on him. Bruce Rump would rant in a voice similar to Ruxton's, sometimes reaching a violent frenzy and ending with the non sequitur "... and that's why we should keep the bloody flag the same!" The send ups of Bruce Rump would often also be send ups of long running Australian children's TV series Romper Room, referred to as "Rumper Room".

Ruxton made fun of himself by releasing a rap single, in which he lampooned his own persona. A song by Melbourne punk band Res-Heads was named after Ruxton. [1]

References

  1. ^ Hills, Ben (1992-06-27). "The $2 billion creature on a black lagoon". Sydney: Good Weekend. p. 8. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Andrew Lemon (1983), The Northcote Side of the River, Hargreen Publishing Company, North Melbourne, Page 269. ISBN 0-949905-12-7
  3. ^ P. Connelly (1981), 'Hoisting the Flag,' in Nation Review, February, Page 22
  4. ^ Lemon, p.269
  5. ^ P. Innes (1981), 'No allegiance to Queen: councillor,' The Age (Melbourne), 11 June, p.5
  6. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s510510.htm
  7. ^ Vizard, Steve, Two Weeks in Lilliput: Bear Baiting and Backbiting At the Constitutional Convention (Penguin, 1998, ISBN 0140279830)
  8. ^ "Background Paper 9 1995-96. The Recent Republic Debate - A Chronology". Australian Parliamentary library. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  9. ^ Lyle Allan, Paul Dahan and Leanne Williams (1995), Introduction to Australian Government, RMIT and Open Training Services, Melbourne (Victoria), page 17
  10. ^ Blair, Anne (2004). Ruxton: A Biography. Allen & Unwin. pp. 188–189. ISBN 1741142229. Retrieved 2008-01-25.

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