Electorate should commemorate Monash, not his detractor Bean

I refer to Sally Whyte’s article, “War correspondent honoured in rejig of ACT electorates” (canberratimes.com.au, April 7).

It’s intriguing that with such exquisite timing an ACT electorate, which includes the suburb of Monash, should be named after Charles Bean when General Sir John Monash is just back in the news. The Hon Tim Fischer is leading a push to have John Monash posthumously promoted to Field Marshal.

The Hon Anthony Abbott meanwhile, is part of the leadership of the newly formed Monash Forum of Coalition MPs. Unlike Tim Fischer, he does not have the support of the Monash family. According to the book by Ross Coulthart, Charles Bean: If People Really Knew, John Monash was not Charles Bean’s pin-up boy.

“Bean attacked Monash for being a Jew rather than for any flaws in his strategic vision. He mounted a nasty campaign to lobby Billy Hughes in favour of (General) White to become the commander of all Australian forces.”

Bean himself wrote: “We do not want Australia represented by men mainly because of their ability, natural and inborn in Jews, to push themselves”.

Bean also condemned Monash’s “Jewish capacity for worming silently into favour without seeming to take any steps towards it.”