Tom Critchley

Tom Critchley AO CBE
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia
In office 1978–1981
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Malcolm Fraser
Preceded by	Richard Woolcott
Succeeded by	Rawdon Dalrymple
Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea
In office 1974–1978
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam (1974–75) Malcolm Fraser (1975–78)
Preceded by	Les Johnson
Succeeded by	Gerry Nutter
Australian Ambassador to Thailand
In office 1969–1973
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	John Gorton (1969–71) William McMahon (1971–72) Gough Whitlam (1972–73)
Preceded by	David McNicol
Succeeded by	D.C. Goss
Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia
In office 1955–1965
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Allan Eastman
Personal details
Born	(1916-01-27)27 January 1916 Melbourne, Victoria
Died	14 July 2009(2009-07-14) (aged 93) Sydney, New South Wales
Spouse	Joyce Gwendolyn Hews ​ ​ (m. 1946⁠–⁠1954)​ Susan Cappell ​ (m. 1962⁠–⁠2009)​
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Royal Australian Air Force (1941) Second Australian Imperial Force (1941–44)
Years of service	1941–1944
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Second World War

Thomas Kingston Critchley, AO, CBE (27 January 1916 – 14 July 2009) was an Australian public servant, diplomat, author and journalist.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Early life and education

Critchley was born in Melbourne but grew up at Longueville in Sydney and attended North Sydney Boys High School.^[6] He joined the Rural Bank after completing high school and attended the University of Sydney by night to study economics.

Career

After the Second World War, Critchley joined the Department of External Affairs as the head of the economic relations section.^[6] His first diplomatic role with the department was assisting Australia's representation of Indonesia against the Dutch during the Indonesian National Revolution. He was on the United Nations Commission for Indonesia between 1947 and 1950 and played a role securing Indonesia's independence from the Dutch.^[7]

Critchley served as Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia (1955–1965); Ambassador to Thailand (1969–1973); High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea (1974–1978); and Ambassador to Indonesia (1978–1981).

Personal life

Critchley's first marriage, to an English Foreign Office employee posted to New Delhi, Joyce Gwendolyn Hew, took place on 9 January 1946 in Delhi. The marriage was witnessed by High Commissioner to India Colin Moodie. Mrs Joyce Critchley followed her husband to Australia in May 1946. Critchley and Hew divorced in 1954.

Critchley, a keen surfer, golfer and tennis player, who also played piano, died on 14 July 2009, survived by his wife Susan and their four daughters.^[6]

Critchley's daughter, Laurie Critchley, is a television producer.^[8]

References

1. Farmer, Bill (28 July 2009). "Death of Great Australian Diplomat" (Press release). Archived from the original on 24 March 2015.
2. Siagian, Sabam P. (22 August 2009). "Tom Critchley: Defender of Indonesia's independence". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015.
3. Stephens, Tony (25 July 2009). "Supported Asian independence". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015.
4. "Critchley honoured". The Canberra Times. ACT. 22 November 1965. p. 1.
5. "Replacing Mr Critchley: Transfer leaves diplomatic void". The Canberra Times. ACT. 17 November 1965. p. 15.
6. Stephens, Tony (24 July 2009). "Trailblazer in South-East Asia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016.
7. Smith, Stephen (24 August 2009). "T.K. (Tom) Critchley AO CBE" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
8. Kalina, Paul (16 October 2014). "The Embassy TV series reveals just how badly Australians can behave abroad". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2017.

Diplomatic posts
New title Position established	Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia 1955–1965	Succeeded by Allan Eastman
Preceded by David McNicol	Australian Ambassador to Thailand 1969–1973	Succeeded by D.C. Goss
Preceded by Les Johnson	Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea 1974–1978	Succeeded by Gerry Nutter
Preceded by Richard Woolcott	Australian Ambassador to Indonesia 1978–1981	Succeeded by Rawdon Dalrymple