AN 100-year-old Penrose resident has been awarded an Australian medal of excellence in his home.
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Ernie Walker received a private investiture ceremony for his OAM medal in Penrose.
Mr Walker said originally he needed to go to Government House in Sydney to receive his medal.
“It was very overwhelming,” he said.
“It’s a big surprise that they came to us, we really appreciate it.”
Members of his family came from Sydney and as far as Brisbane to witness Mr Walker receiving his medal.
The Governor of NSW, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret'd), and his wife Linda came to Penrose with a motorcade to present Mr Walker with his award.
Governor Hurley said Mr Walker had received his medal for “outstanding service to Australia”.
“It’s a highly esteemed award,” he said.
“I’m presenting this medal to a man who served our country magnificently, and who has served the community and veterans since returning [from the war].”
Mr Walker served during the Siege of Tobruk during the Second World War, and is one of the ‘Rats of Tobruk’.
“We were given that name because there were no buildings left at Tobruk, we were living in holes in the ground,” Mr Walker said.
“It was meant to be degrading, part of the propaganda [the enemy] used as they shouted at us, but now it’s a term of endearment.”
Governor Hurley said Mr Walker received his medal late in life because the Order of Australia medals were “community driven”.
“It’s not until someone decides to nominate a member of their community can they be recognised in this way,” he said.
“This is the fourth time I have given a private investiture, because every now and then there is someone who, with very good reason, cannot make it to Government House.
“So then we figure out the best way to get their medal to them.”
Mr Walker was vice-president of the NSW branch of the Rats of Tobruk Association from 2010-2015.
A member of the 2/1st Pioneer Battalion, he served in Tobruk in 1941 and in New Guinea Kokoda 1942-43 and in 1945.
Mr Walker was also a committee member of the NSW Agricultural Show Societies from 1960-1982.
When he became a resident of Penrose in the 1980s, he and his wife Bev established a stud and training stables complex where they bred Australian Stock Horses.
They also trained and instructed in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, cross country and showjumping.
At the age of 80 Mr Walker took part in the inaugural Multiple Sclerosis Ride.