Michael Thwaites
Michael Thwaites | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 May 1915 Rhodes Scholar |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne, University of Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, naval officer, intelligence analyst |
| Employer(s) | Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Parliament |
| Notable work | "Poems of War and Peace" "The Honey Man" "Unfinished Journey" "The Singing Light" "Truth Will Out: ASIO and the Petrovs" "Atlantic Odyssey" |
| Title | Director of Counter-Espionage Assistant Parliamentary Librarian |
| Parent(s) | Robert Ernest, and Jessie Elizabeth, Thwaites |
| Awards | AO, The Newdigate Prize, King's Gold Medal for Poetry |
Michael Rayner Thwaites, AO (30 May 1915 – 1 November 2005) was an Australian academic, poet, and intelligence officer.
Early life and education
Thwaites was born in
Thwaites joined the
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.[3]
In 1954 Thwaites played a leading role in the defection of the
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 continued for many years to 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.[3] He also ghost-wrote the Petrovs' book Empire of Fear.[4]
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
Honours
Thwaites was made an officer of the
References
- ^ "The warrior poet turned spycatcher: Michael Thwaites, AO, Poet, Naval Officer, ASIO Director (1915–2005)". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 December 2005.
- ^ Michael Thwaites, 1999, Atlantic Odyssey, Oxford, New Cherwell Press
- ^ a b Michael Thwaites, 1980, Truth Will Out: ASIO and the Petrovs, Sydney, William Collins
- ^ Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov, 1956, Empire of Fear, London, Andre Deutsch
External links
- ""Obituary"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2011.. Trinity Today. December 2005, pp. 52–53
- Thwaites, Michael (28 May 1995). "A Concert of Poetry and Music". SoundCloud. – recording of a concert given by Michael Thwaites and Penelope Thwaites
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