Michael Thwaites
Encyclopedia
Michael Rayner Thwaites, AO
(30 May 1915 - 1 November 2005) was an Australia
n academic, poet, intelligence officer, and activist for Moral Rearmament.
, to Yorkshire immigrant Robert Ernest Thwaites who taught at Brisbane Grammar School
and Jessie Elizabeth, daughter of Sir High Nelson, a previous premier of Queensland. He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and the University of Melbourne
from which he graduated in 1937. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford
where he won the Newdigate Prize
for poetry and the King's Gold Medal for Poetry. He was the first Australian to win either of these prizes, and is still the only Australian to have won the Newdigate Prize.
. In 1999 he published Atlantic Odyssey, an account of his war service on an anti-submarine escort trawler. After the war he returned to Oxford to complete his studies, then returned to Australia, becoming a lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne in 1947.
Despite having no background in intelligence work, Thwaites was recruited in 1950 to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO) by its director-general Charles Spry
. Unlike the British tradition of university recruitment, in 1950 almost all ASIO staff were from military intelligence and police operational backgrounds, and Spry had been encouraged to recruit senior staff with higher educational credentials. Thwaites proved to be a highly competent intelligence officer and encouraged more analytical recruitment policies. Despite some outside criticism that ASIO staff was an "old boys' club" (perhaps based on the assumption that ASIO was modelled on MI5), military and police backgrounds dominated ASIO staffing into the 1970s and Thwaites eventually resigned believing that the analytical resources were undervalued.
In 1954 Thwaites played a leading role in the defection of the Soviet
diplomat Vladimir Petrov to Australia, which led to the celebrated Petrov Affair
in Australian politics. When Petrov first defected it was Thwaites who debriefed him, and he later spent 18 months with Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov at an ASIO "safe house" in Sydney
.
Thwaites always insisted that the timing of Petrov's defection was determined by Petrov, and was not orchestrated to coincide with the 1954 federal election, as the Labor Party
leader, Dr H.V. Evatt said at the time and as many people in Australia still believe. He also maintained that Petrov was a genuinely important source of intelligence in the Cold War
context, revealing the names of about 600 Soviet operatives around the world. Thwaites recorded his part in these events in Truth Will Out: ASIO and the Petrovs. He also ghost-wrote the Petrovs' book Empire of Fear.
for poetry. With his wife Honor, he wrote the patriotic hymn For Australia, to a tune by Henry Purcell
.
in 2002. He was an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Melbourne
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(30 May 1915 - 1 November 2005) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n academic, poet, intelligence officer, and activist for Moral Rearmament.
Early life and education
Thwaites was born in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, to Yorkshire immigrant Robert Ernest Thwaites who taught at Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
and Jessie Elizabeth, daughter of Sir High Nelson, a previous premier of Queensland. He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
from which he graduated in 1937. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
where he won the Newdigate Prize
Newdigate prize
Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate who has been admitted to Oxford within the previous four years. It was founded by Sir Roger Newdigate, Bt in the 18th century...
for poetry and the King's Gold Medal for Poetry. He was the first Australian to win either of these prizes, and is still the only Australian to have won the Newdigate Prize.
Naval and intelligence career
Thwaites joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and served as an officer in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1999 he published Atlantic Odyssey, an account of his war service on an anti-submarine escort trawler. After the war he returned to Oxford to complete his studies, then returned to Australia, becoming a lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne in 1947.
Despite having no background in intelligence work, Thwaites was recruited in 1950 to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
(ASIO) by its director-general Charles Spry
Charles Spry
Brigadier Sir Charles Chambers Fowell Spry, CBE, DSO was an Australian soldier, who from 1950 to 1970 was the second Director-General of Security, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation .-Early life:...
. Unlike the British tradition of university recruitment, in 1950 almost all ASIO staff were from military intelligence and police operational backgrounds, and Spry had been encouraged to recruit senior staff with higher educational credentials. Thwaites proved to be a highly competent intelligence officer and encouraged more analytical recruitment policies. Despite some outside criticism that ASIO staff was an "old boys' club" (perhaps based on the assumption that ASIO was modelled on MI5), military and police backgrounds dominated ASIO staffing into the 1970s and Thwaites eventually resigned believing that the analytical resources were undervalued.
In 1954 Thwaites played a leading role in the defection of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
diplomat Vladimir Petrov to Australia, which led to the celebrated Petrov Affair
Petrov Affair
The Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
in Australian politics. When Petrov first defected it was Thwaites who debriefed him, and he later spent 18 months with Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov at an ASIO "safe house" in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Thwaites always insisted that the timing of Petrov's defection was determined by Petrov, and was not orchestrated to coincide with the 1954 federal election, as the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
leader, Dr H.V. Evatt said at the time and as many people in Australia still believe. He also maintained that Petrov was a genuinely important source of intelligence in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
context, revealing the names of about 600 Soviet operatives around the world. Thwaites recorded his part in these events in Truth Will Out: ASIO and the Petrovs. He also ghost-wrote the Petrovs' book Empire of Fear.
Literary life and career
Thwaites left ASIO in 1971 to become Assistant Parliamentary Librarian. This position enabled him to devote more time to poetry, which was always his first love. His best known poems include The Jervis Bay, The Prophetic Hour, and Message to My Grandson. His collected poems spanning 1932 to 2004 were published as Unfinished Journey which won the 2005 ACT Writing and Publishing AwardsACT Writing and Publishing Awards
The ACT Writing and Publishing Awards are an Australian literary award presented by the ACT Writers Centre for the best books in the categories of non-fiction, fiction, poetry and children's literature written in the Canberra region. They have been awarded since 2004...
for poetry. With his wife Honor, he wrote the patriotic hymn For Australia, to a tune by Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
.
Honours
Thwaites was made an officer of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 2002. He was an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Melbourne
Trinity College (University of Melbourne)
Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs...
.