2025/09/24 by Nicole Townsend · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society
paper · doi:10.1111/ajph.70021
openalex publication_date 2025/09/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The siege of Tobruk is one of the most well‐known Australian actions of the Second World War, enjoying special attention on Anzac Day. Its elevation within Australian national memory is by no means accidental. Rather, it is the result of decades of lobbying by the Rats of Tobruk Association (ROTA), which positioned veterans of the siege as the successors to Anzac and fought to ensure the siege was not forgotten by subsequent generations. In charting ROTA's lobbying efforts after the war, this article argues that while ROTA's successful campaign for a national memorial in Canberra ensured Tobruk's place in the national commemorative landscape, the association's development of relationships with schools across Australia has ensured the posterity of the siege in Australian popular memory at an individual level. On the other hand, ROTA's failed attempts to secure a dedicated National Day of Commemoration for the siege and legal protection for the word “Tobruk” demonstrate the dominance of Anzac within the Australian psyche, which influenced government decisions on these matters. Finally, it highlights the potential for conflict between veterans' organisations, whose interests do not always align and raise questions about which groups should determine how events are remembered.