Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Lionel Rose, (21 March 1898 – 2 May 1980), better known as Lionel Rose or Colonel Rose, was an Australian Army officer and veterinarian who served in both World War I and II. He is best known for pioneering the live cattle trade from the Northern Territory to Asia and curing cattle disease.
Early life
Lionel Rose was born in Strathfield, New South Wales. He was the fifth child of Herbert John Rose, a member of the Anglican clergy, and John's spouse Harriett Ethel (née Priddle) Rose. In his formative years, Rose attended Sydney Grammar School.
Military career
Rose enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force in Sydney on 15 May 1916 soon after his 18th birthday. By September he was promoted to sergeant. He embarked at Sydney on 30 September with the 117th Howitzer Battery on the HMAT Aeneas. He served in France and was wounded in the Second Battle of Arras. He was not seriously affected by his war injuries. Over the years, fragments of shrapnel "worked their way" through his skin at the back of his neck".
On 24 November 1917, Rose was promoted to second lieutenant and fought in France until the end of the war. He returned to Australia on the HMT Morea in October 1919. Rose was discharged from the AIF in April 1920, but remained active in the Militia, Australia's reserve military force, from 1924 serving in the Australian Light Horse.
After the outbreak of World War II, Rose was called up for full-time service on 24 January 1940 to Walgrove Military Camp near Penrith, Sydney. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel of the 21st Light Horse, and he enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 10 June 1940, accepting a reduction in rank to major. He departed for the Middle East on 5 February 1941. He arrived aboard the Lancashire at Port Taufiq on the Gulf of Suez and entrained for Palestine. He went on to serve in Greece, Cyprus, and Syria before returning to Australia on 14 March 1942. He later served in New Guinea and Borneo. His postings included the 7th Divisional Cavalry Regiment and I Corps headquarters. He regained his rank of lieutenant colonel in 1943, and retired from military service in May 1946.
Agricultural career
After World War I Rose enrolled in veterinary science at the University of Sydney in 1920, against the wishes of his father. He graduated in 1923 and was awarded the W.L. Waterhouse prize for Agricultural Botany. He then took up the position of junior veterinary officer with the Department of Agriculture, New South Wales, commencing duty in January 1924. In 1928 he became the district veterinary officer in Cootamundra.
Upon returning from World War II, Rose joined the Commonwealth Department of Health as chief veterinary officer in the Northern Territory in 1946, a role in which he served until 1958. In June 1947, he set up the Animal Industry Branch (AIB) in Alice Springs. As director, he was the most senior public servant in the region at the time allowing him to select his own staff and live at The Residency, the Government House of Central Australia. The AIB soon developed the reputation of being the most efficient department in the Northern Territory.
During the 1950s, Rose was offered the position of chairman of the newly formed Northern Territory Reserves Board.
Known for his radical behaviour, Rose's most publicised outburst occurred during Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Northern Territory in March 1963. During the speeches at a Royal luncheon at the Stuart Arms Hotel in Alice Springs, the then Administrator, The Honourable Frank Wise politely tapped his glass with a spoon. The act failed to quiet the crowd, so Rose in his best parade ground bellow shouted "shut up". The incident made the front page of newspapers across Australia the next day. Queen Elizabeth was quoted as saying "it was the shortest and most effective speech" she had ever heard.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia cure
During this period, the contagious bovine pleuropneumonia disease was rampant in the Northern Territory. Rose established a diagnostic and research laboratory at the AIB in Alice Springs and worked to develop a cure. Bovine pleuropneumonia was eradicated in the Northern Territory by 1973.