A touch of history with painting

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 506, 5 October 1993, Page 6

A touch of history with painting

By

Jenelle

Frewen

A special gathering was held at the weekend for the presentation of an important legacy to the Army Officer Cadet School. Former Commandant of OCS, Colonel Martyn Donne, commemorated his time at OCS and added another touch of history to the School by presenting it with a protrait of the late Lt. Col. John Brooke. The portrait will be hung in OCS's Brooke Room, named after him and his father, the late Col. John I Brooke who was known throughout the Army as 'the Rajah'. In his presentation Col. Donne touched upon the important role that history plays in the New Zealand Army. "The fabric of this small army is made up by people such as the Brooke family", he said. Col. Dunne also stressed the importance of passing on a sense of history and tradition to the cadets at OCS, including those who come from overseas to be trained as officers in New Zealand. Many members of the Brooke family attended. Major

Bruce Poananga, (retired) was also there to detail the often colourful history of the Brooke father and son combination. John Brooke Snr was mentioned in dispatches twice and among others held the position of Commander ATG for a time. The younger John Brooke followed in his father' s footsteps and attended the Royal Military College at Duntroon in Australia. Brooke Jnr served with an Australian battalion in Korea where he was badly wounded. He also held several important positions in Waiouru during his military career including instructor of the Waiouru Tactical School and chief instructor at the School of Infantry. Lt. Col. John Brooke' s ashes were scattered amongst the grounds of the Waiouru Military Camp. Maj. Poananga commended Col. Dunne for the idea of the portrait and also thanked the artist, retired Brigadier Turn to Page Seven

Painting presentation

From Page Six Ian Burrows "for transforming that idea into a wonderful and lasting portrait." Lt. Col. John Brooke was an appropriate role model for the officer cadets, Maj. Poananga said, because "he was a leader by example, based on the knowledge of his job, and had a very cheerful humility." The portrait was accepted on behalf of the Officer Cadet School by the current president of the mess committee, Mr Cooper, who said he believed it would significantly add to the espirit de Corps and sense of tradition at OCS as do the Corps Colours and the wearing of the Blues uniform at graduation.