Eric (Abe) ABRAHAM

20 April 1898 – 20 March 2003, aged 104

A well-known figure in recent years, leading ANZAC Day marches in Brisbane, Abe was one of the ‘Dungaree Diggers’ who volunteered for service in World War I. Among notable battles he participated in were the Somme, Villers-Bretonneux and Le Hamel. In 1998 he returned to France and was invested with the Legion of Honour. He was given the honour of a State funeral in Brisbane.

Abe had a successful career in the public service in Australia. Newspaper accounts of his life almost completely ignored his New Guinea connection. Arriving in Rabaul in 1922, he was Postmaster there until leaving in 1934 due to the ill health of his wife. Roma Bates, our co-Patron, knew him well and recalls the Post Office shared a bungalow with AWA and Abe lived there as well. In those days Morse Code was the main method of communicating with outstations. Abe taught Roma how to use the Morse code key so that she could send messages to her husband Charlie. He was a guest at Roma and Charlie’s wedding. Abe was a keen tennis player and always a popular figure at parties. Roma attended his 100th birthday bash in Brisbane.

Two daughters, seven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren survive him. Pat Johnson