Rats of Tobruk Association

We sincerely thank all those who visited Tobruk House on Sunday to view our collection of 85 artefacts from the siege, commemorating this important event of 81 years ago.

From family and ROTA members to interested passers-by, visitors were highly complimentary of the display. For those who were unable to attend, your next opportunity to view this unique collection is Sunday, 14 June, from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm at Tobruk House, 44 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park. It’s a great way to spend a few hours on a wintry Melbourne afternoon.

What a difference a week makes!

Just a few days ago, Tobruk House was used by Military History and Heritage Victoria Inc. to host a most successful weekend conference with a focus on ‘Vietnam- Thirty Years of War/Fifty Years of Reflection. We provided the perfect venue for such a gathering, but just a few days later Tobruk House has been transformed into a tribute to those who served during the 1941 Tobruk siege.

We open our doors at 10.30am on Sunday May 24 for the launch of our 85/85 exhibition. From uniforms to medals, from flags to crossing the equator certificates; we’ve got it all, so why not pop in for a visit! Thanks to all who have made this display of 85 items for the 85th anniversary of the siege possible.

The good news is that it will here until November, open every second Sunday of the month, beginning Sunday June 14.

Many thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy of our recently published The Rats of Tobruk book, and to those intending to attend Tobruk House on 24 May for the launch of our “85 for 85” exhibition of Tobruk memorabilia. Support such as this allows the Association not only to continue, but hopefully to grow and flourish into the future.

Another important way to support ROTA is by becoming a member. Sadly, in recent years many branches and sub-branches across Australia have been forced to wind up due to declining numbers of surviving veteran members. Fortunately, that has not been the case for us.

At just $30 for joining and annual membership as an affiliate member, we believe membership remains very affordable, with $5 from every membership donated directly to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, with whom we continue to share a close relationship.

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to consider joining and helping support the future of the Association.

Please do not hesitate to contact us on [email protected]

This has been an exceptionally busy month for ROTA, but there is still more to follow, in this, the 85th anniversary year of the Tobruk siege.

We decided many months ago that what would be more fitting in this important year than to put together an exhibition of items related to the siege for display at Tobruk House. After asking families to donate or lend Tobruk-related memorabilia to us, and after contacting other sources such as museums for assistance, we will be ready to launch this special exhibition on Sunday May 24 at 10:30am for an 11am opening.

If you are unavailable to attend on that date, you will be pleased to know that the exhibition will be on display every second Sunday of the month (from Sunday June 14) until November, so you won’t miss out.

Oh, and how many items you may ask? Why, 85 of course!

What an amazing turn out for yesterday's 2026 Anzac Day. Tobruk House was abuzz with sausages sizzling and people enjoying themselves.

Many thanks to all who attended and special thanks must go to our willing band of volunteers who manned the BBQ and kept the food coming, and to ROT Pipes and Drums who, as usual, put in a great performance (passers-by in Victoria Ave. found it a treat also).

If you missed this one, there’s always next year or why not come along to another of our events. You will be made very welcome.

At The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, we share a special connection with the Rats of Tobruk - the Australian soldiers who endured 242 days of siege in Libya during the Second World War.

That legacy lives on through the Rats of Tobruk Association, a community of descendants and relatives who continue to honour their courage and sacrifice.

For 16 years, the Rats of Tobruk Association has supported the Rats of Tobruk Neuroscience Fellowship, an annual training opportunity for emerging neurologists at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne .

Their impact is also reflected within the hospital itself. The neurology ward, Cockatoo, was named in their honour and features a mural and plaque dedicated to the Rats - a permanent tribute within the ward (pictured above with Cockatoo Ward nurses and care coordinators).

Today, on Anzac Day, we pause to remember and thank all who have served to defend our nation, and the place so many of us call home.

On this ANZAC Day, we turn our thoughts to those brave service personnel who have worn, and continue to wear, the uniform of this nation, and we say to them: thank you.

It is easy, with the passing of time, to let the story of the siege settle into something distant, something almost comfortable. But Tobruk was never that. It was harsh, unrelenting, and defined by endurance under constant fire. The men who held that line were not simply witnesses to history; they shaped it through their resilience, their defiance, and their refusal to yield.

I share with you the ANZAC requiem below.

On this day above all days we recall those who served in war and who did not return to receive the grateful thanks of the nation.

We remember those who still sleep where they were left — amid the holly scrub in the valleys and on the ridges of Gallipoli — on the rocky and terraced hills of Palestine — and in the lovely cemeteries of France.

We remember those who lie asleep in ground beneath the shimmering haze of the Libyan desert —at Bardia, Derna, Tobruk — and amid the mountain passes and olive groves of Greece and Crete, and the rugged, snow-capped hills of Syria.

We remember those who lie buried in the rank jungle of Malaya — in New Guinea — and in the distant isles of the Pacific.

We remember those who lie buried amid loving friends in our Motherland and in our own far North. We remember those who lie in unknown resting places in almost every land, and those gallant men whose grave is the unending sea. Especially do we remember those who died as prisoners of war, remote from their homeland, and from the comforting presence of their kith and kin.

We think of those of our women’s services who gave their lives in our own and foreign lands and at sea, and of those who proved to be, in much more than name, the sisters of our fighting men. We recall too, the staunch friends who fought beside our men on the first Anzac Day — men of New Zealand who helped to create the name of Anzac.

We recall all those who gave their lives in the British Army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and in other British and Dominion Forces, and we think of those British men and women who fell, when, for the second time in history, their nation and its kindred stood alone against the overwhelming might of an oppressor; we think of every man and woman who in those crucial hours died so that the light of freedom and humanity might continue to shine.

We think of those gallant men who died in Korea, Malaya and Vietnam, assisting to defend the Commonwealth, and other countries of the Free World, against a common enemy.

May these all rest proudly in the knowledge of their achievement, and may we and our successors in that heritage prove worthy of their sacrifice.

Today, we remember not out of habit, but out of duty. To honour those who served, to uphold their legacy, and to carry that torch forward with the seriousness it demands.

Lest We Forget.

Fantastic to see players from Melbourne Storm wearing Rats of Tobruk Association caps at their training session today.

After tomorrows morning and afternoon commemorations are over our members look forward to tuning in and cheering on the Storm wearing their 2026 ANZAC jerseys inspired by the story of the Siege of Tobruk and the men who were there.

A number of ROTA committee members had the privilege of attending a special Anzac Day luncheon hosted by Melbourne Storm yesterday.

During the event, our Secretary, Lachlan Gaylard, delivered a moving address about Tobruk and four Rats of Tobruk who had been killed during the war.

The association was presented with a framed ANZAC Day 2026 jersey created as a tribute to the Rats of Tobruk.

The Rats of Tobruk association are honoured to partner with Melbourne Storm for a very special ANZAC Day Jersey.