Sarsono and Tambunan

Lieutenant General Antonius Johanes Witono “Ton” Sarsono and Major General Edward Wellington Pahala “Tam” Tambunan (Retired) of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

Lieutenant General Antonius Johanes Witono “Ton” Sarsono and Major General Edward Wellington Pahala “Tam” Tambunan (Retired) of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) were the first two Indonesian Army officers to attend the Australian Staff College, Queenscliff, Victoria. By doing so they became the first of a tradition of staff college exchanges that continues unbroken to this day.

Tambunan, known as “Tam” to his Australian classmates, attended Queenscliff in 1961-62. Born in North Sumatra in 1928, Tambunan was a lecturer at Indonesian Army Staff College in 1958 prior to being selected to attend Queenscliff. While in Australia he was noted as an observant and circumspect officer. His language skills were highlighted by his hobby of collecting Australian idioms, testament to his interest in making meaningful personal connections with his classmates. Upon his return to Indonesia, Tambunan became a mentor to Australian Lieutenant Colonel Colin East when he attended as the first Australian student at the Indonesian Army Staff College in 1964.

Lieutenant General Sarsono, or “Ton” to his Australian friends, was born in Yogyakarta in 1926 and attended Queenscliff in 1963. The early part of his military career was spent in command roles in West Java. He was held in high regard by his Queenscliff classmates as a kind and amusing officer, an expert in cooking and he always had a camera around his neck. Sarsono later served as the Indonesian Ambassador to Japan from 1976 to 1979.

Sarsono’s and Tambunan’s names are remembered by the Indonesia-Australia Defence Alumni Association, Ikahan, through the Sarsono–Tambunan Memorial Lecture Series held in Indonesia and Australia on a quarterly basis.