Wayne Gobert

I found this book quite fascinating. It's short and, apparently based on the PhD thesis of the author but it focuses attention on the role played by Trade Commissioners and the Department of Civil Aviation in the 1930's in delivering military and strategic intelligence to the Australian Governments. In fact one of these original Trade Commissioners; E E Longfield-Lloyd became the first Director of the Australian Security and Intelligence organisation (ASIO) at its formation in 1949. At that time Australia was still in thrall to Britain and still regarded as a "Dominion" where the British would decide what was good for Australia and act accordingly. Hence our heavy involvement in WWI with the appalling loss of life ..and very little rationale for Australians being involved at all....Though, as pointed out in this monograph, the theory was that, when required, Britain would come to the aid of the Colonies and protect them from aggressors. (But didn't quite work out this way in WWII...with the fall of Singapore). So the Australian Government was running its own intelligence service which appeared to be giving a more accurate picture of Japan and its militaristic capabilities and intentions than the British Embassy in Tokyo. And the reports coming from the Australian Trade Commissioners arrived several months before the reports filtered back via London to Australia from the British diplomatic channels. There is a throw away line in the book that 80% of intelligence is obtained via open sources and simply keeping your eyes open.That would equate with my experience. (Though, I suspect, the figure is probably more like 98 percent when you add in "reading the local newspapers").
I also noticed a slightly nasty side to JG Latham who was a naval officer who became attorney General in the Bruce Government in 1925. Gobert reports him as having the "strongest opinions about radicalism, experience in surveillance and harassment techniques" and being strongly anti communist and trying to ban the party. I recall my own father describing how, as a young police officer he was required to record in short- hand the speeches in Lithgow from some of the militant trade union members. And, on the basis of these supposedly seditious speeches the speakers were dragged into court and charged. However, the night of the speeches was dark and wet and alas, my dad's notes were thrown out by the court as "inaccurate or inadequate". So, it seems, right from the beginning our security agencies had been determined to find enemies where (probably) none existed, or who were harmless anyway.
When I joined the Australian Trade Commissioner Service there was certainly no emphasis placed on any activity other than trade related activity but, maybe, some of my colleagues were collecting some strategic information and passing it on to other departments. And The Department of Trade was very proud of the Trade Commissioner's Act 1933 which was the foundation of the Trade Commissioners. It has since been repealed.
As an interesting read, I give it 4 stars.… (mere)