Du Toit was born and raised in Durban, South Africa and emigrated to Australia in early 1987.[1]
Naval career
South African Navy
Du Toit joined the South African Navy as a midshipman in 1975 and graduated from the South African Military Academy in 1979. Du Toit went on to serve aboard frigates, submarines and mine countermeasures vessels as a mine warfare specialist and Principal Warfare Officer and was a junior member of the directing staff at the South African Naval Staff College. In 1986 he received a Chief of the South African Navy's Commendation.[5]
Royal Australian Navy
Du Toit joined the Royal Australian Navy in February 1987.[6]
Between November 2001 and March 2002 he was the RAN Task Group Commander and became the first non-United States officer to command a multinational naval force enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2004 Australia Day Honours in recognition of this service as Commander of the Multinational Maritime Interception Force.[5][7]
Du Toit has served in a number of joint and single service command positions, including Director General Military Strategic Commitments in 2006–07, Director General Joint Operations and Plans in 2005–06. du Toit was also the Project Officer for the Mine Hunter Coastal Project from 1993 to 1996.[1][5]
Du Toit was appointed Commander Border Protection Command on 9 May 2008[5] and served in that role until replaced by Rear Admiral Tim Barrett on 9 February 2010.[4]
On 1 February 2012, du Toit was appointed Head of Navy Capability and served in that position until the end of 2012.[1] At the beginning of 2013 he was appointed as Australia's Military Representative to NATO and the European Union. He retired from the Royal Australian Navy in early 2016.[8]
Du Toit lives in the Huon Valley in Tasmania with his partner Carolyn, a former Australian diplomat, and her young daughter. He has two adult sons and is a keen rugby union and cricket supporter.[5]
Writings
Du Toit wrote his first published book on warships when he was 15 years old; the book was later published while he was serving as a midshipman in the South African Navy. Du Toit has gone on to write two other books, one on warships and the other on South African naval history.[5]
^ ab"Allan du Toit AM". Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society. University of NSW: Australian Defence Force Academy. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
^"Naval Studies Group". Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society. University of NSW: Australian Defence Force Academy. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.