General News
24 October, 2026
Veteran's Voices: Robert Eastick
Major Robert (Bob) Frank Eastick was born in Nhill on February 8, 1913, to parents Frank and Helen Lillian (Watson) Eastick, and enlisted in the AIF on January 2, 1941, at Royal Park, Victoria.
Major Robert (Bob) Frank Eastick was born in Nhill on February 8, 1913, to parents Frank and Helen Lillian (Watson) Eastick, and enlisted in the AIF on January 2, 1941, at Royal Park, Victoria.
On enlistment, Eastick was living at Mildura, and he was attached to the 9th Division Australian Engineers.
His Attestation Form states his unit as 2/3rd Field Company, and he was employed at the Country Roads Board as a civil engineer.
He had a Diploma of Civil Engineering and a Municipal Surveyor’s Certificate.
He was nearly 28 years old when he enlisted and was single.
The Eastick family in Nhill has a strong representation in Australia’s fighting services.
Along with Bob, there was Frederick Harold (b. 1889), possibly his father, Frederick John (b. 1923), RAN, Herbert Ronald (b. 1922) Army, John Rodderick (b.1923) Army, Richard Clement (b. 1922) Army, Robert William (b. 1925) RAAF, Thomas Alexander (b. 1920) Army, Victor Thomas (b. 1890) Army, and Vivian Victor (b. 1915) RAAF.
Thomas Alexander, a Captain in the Army, is on the Honour Roll of the Rats of Tobruk.
The 9th Division was the fourth division raised in the 2nd AIF.
It served in front-line combat longer cumulatively than any other Australian division and was one of Australia’s most decorated units.
It was the only 2nd AIF division formed in the United Kingdom from infantry brigades and support units formed in Australia.
Its exploits in the Middle East, including the siege of Tobruk, won praise from both Bernard Montgomery of the Allied forces and Erwin Rommel of the Axis forces.
Together with the 6th and 7th Divisions, it served in both the Mediterranean and Pacific Theatres.
During 1940, the component units of the 9th Division were sent to the UK to defend it against a possible German invasion.
After serving during 1941 and 1942 in the North African Campaign, at the Siege of Tobruk and the first and second battles of El Alamein, the Division returned to Australia.
In 1943 and 1944, it served in the New Guinea Campaign and, during 1945, in the Borneo Campaign.
During 1940, the component units of the 9th Division were sent to the United Kingdom to defend it against a possible German invasion.
After serving during 1941 and 1942 in the North African Campaign, at the Siege of Tobruk and the First and Second Battles of El Alamein, the Division returned to Australia.
In 1943 and 1944, it served in the New Guinea Campaign and during 1945, in the Borneo Campaign.
After enlisting, Eastick was appointed Lieutenant.
He did initial training in Melbourne for a month, and on February 5, 1941, he embarked for Egypt on March 23.
He was wounded in action in October 1942 with a gunshot wound in his right arm, and he spent nearly a month in the 2/3rd Field Ambulance in Tobruk.
Eastick also suffered from other afflictions, including dysentery and mild balanitis.
He returned to Australia in January 1943.
He was appointed temporary Captain in June 1943, and a month later, aboard the MV Van Heutz, he arrived at Milne Bay in New Guinea.
His appointment as Captain was confirmed on July 24, 1943, and it must have been one of the shortest tenures in Australian Army history, as he was promoted to Major four days later.
The next entry in the archive has him leaving New Guinea from Finschhafen in February 1944 on the USAT Sea Snipe bound for Brisbane.
While back in Australia, he was hospitalised for severe stomach pains and appendicitis.
He emplaned for Moratai in April 1945, and from there, aboard LSM 225, he landed in British North Borneo.
Coincidentally, the Japanese forces in the Kuching area in Borneo surrendered on September 11, 1945, to Brigadier Thomas Eastick aboard the Australian corvette, HMAS Kapunda.
He left Borneo from Lauan on the HMAS Manoora in October 1945, bound for Brisbane.
He was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1947 for meritorious service.
The Citation of his award states:
“During the operations mounted to capture the area of Brooketon, Brunei, and Miri, this officer commanded 2/3 Australian Field Coy RAE both for the assault on the initial beachheads and during the land advances.
This officer was responsible for all the detailed engineering planning for these operations; it was due to Bob’s organising abilities and untiring efforts that the engineering plan was so efficiently implemented.
During the operation, this officer, by his outstanding appreciation of engineering tasks and his personal drive and leadership, overcame all obstacles and established and maintained a land L and C (Line of Communication) over the entire area of operations.
Subsequent to the conclusion of operations, Maj R. F. Eastick has diligently applied himself to the task of restoration and development of these areas with the same outstanding success and devotion to duty that characterised his work during operations.
This officer has at all times been an inspiration to the men serving under him and has shown that same great devotion to duty in earlier campaigns of Tobruk, El Alamein, Lae, and Finschhafen.”
He was discharged with the rank of Major on October 30, 1945, and shortly afterwards, he married Margaret Ramsay Norman.
He continued his career in the Army and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1958 and retired in October 1962.
His career at the Country Roads Board (CRB) was in bridge construction.
He supervised the construction of the Johnston Street Bridge across the Yarra River linking Abbotsford and Kew in 1950-51.
He had a colourful and authoritative air about him – befitting a major – and there is a story in the folklore of the CRB about him managing this project.
Work used to commence at 7am and Eastick always ordered pies for lunch.
He went round the job each morning and counted the heads and ordered two pies per person irrespective of whether you liked pies or brought your own lunch.
In those days there were squatters who lived along the banks of the river and in nooks in the abutment of the bridge.
These people were the real beneficiaries of Eastick’s largesse, as there were pies to burn.
He was also involved in the construction of the ill-fated Kings Bridge – he supervised the fabrication of the steel girders for the King Street Bridge.
He left the CRB in the 1960s and shifted to Sydney, where he started up his own consultancy business.
Eastick died in 1999, aged 86.