Rawdon Dalrymple was a senior diplomat and career officer in the Australian foreign service, from 1957-1994. The iterations of his departments morphed from: External Affairs, Foreign Affairs to Foreign Affairs and Trade. He had a distinguished record of high achievement and he was posted overseas to many capitals, initially including: Bonn, London, Manila and Jakarta. His other postings, as head of mission, were to; Tel Aviv, Jakarta, Washington and Tokyo. He was promoted to Deputy Secretary in 1985 and retired in 1994. An AO was awarded to him earlier.
Born in Sydney, on 6 November 1930, he died on 29 September, 2023 and was privately cremated, before his memorial service, which was conducted in Sydney on what would have been his 93rd birthday, in 2023. Married to Rossie, they had two children, David and Laura, with their three grandchildren. On retirement, he settled in Sydney, residing at Whale Beach and Paddington. For a period, he was attached to the University of Sydney, which gave him an honorary doctorate (DSc Economics) in 2007. In his third age, he kept thinking, writing a book on diplomacy with Asia.
At the outset, he was academically equipped and was an accomplished athlete (rowing). For his straitened circumstances, scholarships furthered his education, as both his parents were WWI veterans. Attending the University of Sydney (from 1948 to 1951), he proved to be a bright student. In consideration, he was awarded a Rhodes’ scholarship to Oxford (NSW, 1952). While being selected to join staff cadet course X that same year, he withdrew, John Kelso replacing him. That proved no handicap, for Rawdon in 1957, when he, too, joined the corps.
Dalrymple graduated with a BA (honours class 2), majoring in history and philosophy in 1952. It was advanced to honours class 1 at Oxford, where he added politics and economics to his sub-set of academic skills. In the interim, he claimed a proficiency in German (fair) from language tuition. He could also read French at fair level. It is not known if he attained a course-work MA (Oxon) degree. Graeme Lewis, perhaps among many alumni of that prestigious institution, was awarded this higher MA, avoiding any further study obligations, on payment of ten pounds.
How significant was his education, on his selection to join External Affairs? References were instructive. The formidable philosopher, John Anderson, assessed that his former student was very able. So much so, that his charge briefly joined his department, on return from Oxford. He didn’t like the academy, resigning after a year. As a Rhodes Scholar, from his privileged appointment, it removed all doubt. Similarly credentialed diplomats have been recorded as the officers: Watt, Hood, Harry, McIntyre, Dunn, Anderson, Ashwin, Pocock, Miller, Evans and Calvert.
Another lecturer in philosophy gave Mr Dalrymple a hero-gram. “He is a highly gifted person. Essay work was above average, often excellent. Not as self-assured and purposeful as others, but his adaptability and pleasant manner made up for it. He gets on with people and will develop poise and confidence. Deemed well-suited for diplomacy.” What of his 1957 peers? Space denies any complete longitudinal cohort study. There are more stars than stars to give. Rawdon succeeded. There is no scope to encompass his first four postings, the other four defined him.
Tel Aviv (1972-75), He privately conceded that he earned some official displeasure from his previous posting as counsellor in Jakarta. This Middle East post was rated as a quiet back-water where little influence was expected. The outbreak of the Yom-Kippur war of October 1973 deepened the ignorance of any malefactors in Canberra. Many key diplomatic despatches were sent to Canberra and other posts. Their content was prescient, five decades on, as the war with Hamas now rages. It was a busy time for staff, as they toiled with the ancient ciphers, then available to them.
Jakarta (1981-1985). Postings were alternated with periods in Canberra. It was a chance to re-connect with the central policy demands placed on senior staff, to outfit their professional advancement. Indonesian service was significant, but not within the province of this study. What happened before Washington was more compelling. Secretary Peter Henderson retired early in September, 1983. His minister, the late Bill Hayden, wanted him replaced. While the permanent head felt a last posting to the US was appropriate, it was not to be. An insecure Hayden was vindictive towards him.
Washington (1985-1989). Labor needed a person to fill it, to be both suitable and available. Dalrymple modestly dissembled that he was being “kicked upstairs”, again. That disbelief is hard to reconcile. Washington is accepted as a political appointment, at the discretion of the incumbent government. The snakes and ladders of Canberra soon became entwined. Who would replace Henderson, the son-in-law of Sir Robert Menzies, a long-serving Tory PM? Hawke decided on an outlier, Dr Stuart Harris. His was an inspired choice and the rank and file still remember him fondly.
There were several other contenders also being considered to head the department in 1983, including: Duncan Campbell, Rawdon Dalrymple, Stuart Harris, Geoff Miller and Richard Woolcott. Dalrymple missed the cut, yet Washington, after Jakarta, would be a respectable consolation prize. It explains much. Woolcott would later be promoted as departmental head, whereas Dalrymple would never be. In an acerbic Quadrant review, Rawdon adjured that Woolcott had not been appointed to Washington, inferring that he was the child of a lesser God. They did make up after.
Tokyo, 1989-1993. The road to Japan would be his last. On retirement, Dalrymple contributed to public commentary, writing a text on Australia’s regional engagement with Asia, once the Asia-Pacific, and now the Indo-Pacific. It was an expensive academic book with little appeal to the general reader, whereas works from Woolcott were unashamedly breezy, as successful commercial sales proved. These two lives opened and book-ended 2023. It is presumptuous of this writer to claim a close personal connection with either. He knew both as consummate senior diplomats.
Mike Fogarty
Mike Fogarty, a former naval officer, served as a diplomat in the Australian Embassy Hanoi, Vietnam in 1980-1981. In 2016 he graduated MA (Military History) from UNSW at ADFA. His views are his own and need no official endorsement. See also Richard Broinowski, “Vietnam: the advantages of a flexible foreign policy”, Australian Outlook, Australian Institute of International Affairs, 27 January, 2023.