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Australia

Richard Wigram Locke Austin: From the Jungles of Malaya to the Corridors of Power.

By John Baker 

Richard Wigram Locke Austin AO, OBE (1919–2000), known variously as Dick, Dickie, or simply Austin to colleagues across military, diplomatic and corporate circles, led one of Australia’s most remarkable twentieth-century lives—a life shaped by war, intelligence, international diplomacy and a passion for the arts.
Early Life and Education
Born in Woollahra, Sydney, on 16 March 1919, Richard Austin was the eldest child of Kenneth Teasdale Austin, a horse breeder and stock and station agent, and Ethel Joyce Austin (née Allen), herself a granddaughter of the notable colonial-era figure Sir George Wigram Allen. The pedigree was impressive, but Austin would make a name all his own.
His early education began at Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill (1927–31). In the early 1930s, his family relocated to New Zealand, where his father managed the famed Elderslie Stud in the South Island. There, Austin attended Waitaki Boys’ High School in Oamaru, graduating dux of his year in 1935. The family returned to Sydney the following year, where Austin enrolled at the University of Sydney, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1939, and later a Bachelor of Laws in 1948. While completing his legal studies, he articled at the prominent family firm Allen, Allen & Hemsley, where he crossed paths with a young William McMahon, a future Prime Minister.
Service in the Second World War
The outbreak of World War II changed everything. In July 1940, Austin was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Citizen Military Forces. Just one month later, he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), joining the 2/19th Infantry Battalion—part of the ill-fated 8th Division.
The battalion was dispatched to British Malaya, where in January 1942 Austin displayed extraordinary gallantry. Wounded during the withdrawal at Parit Sulong, he and another soldier crawled into Japanese-held territory under the cover of night and retrieved two ambulances and their wounded occupants. The Japanese had refused to release the injured unless the Australians surrendered—an order they defied.
On 15 February 1942, with the Fall of Singapore, Austin was taken prisoner by the Japanese. He would spend the next three and a half years as a POW, surviving the brutal conditions of Changi Prison and the notorious Burma–Thailand Railway. Leveraging a talent for languages, he taught himself Japanese and was used as an interpreter by both his captors and fellow prisoners.
Post-War Reconstruction and the Legal World
After his release and return to Australia in late 1945, Austin resumed his studies and legal career with characteristic drive. He worked as an associate to Supreme Court Justices Reginald Bonney and (Sir) William Owen, and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in February 1948. Though he remained attached to the legal faculty at the University of Sydney, his interests would soon lead him beyond the courtroom.
Intelligence, Diplomacy and Global Insight
In 1952, aided by a connection with then-Minister for External Affairs Richard Casey, Austin entered the British Foreign Service and undertook junior postings in Hong Kong and Singapore. His flair for languages, personal style and quiet capability quickly marked him out. By the mid-1950s, he returned to Australia to join the nascent Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).
His postings with ASIS took him from Tokyo to Jakarta and eventually back to Melbourne, where he rose to become Deputy Director (1971–73). His time in intelligence coincided with seismic shifts across Southeast Asia, including Indonesian independence, territorial disputes over West Papua, and the Cold War’s regional flashpoints.
Austin married Arija Flomena Stepanitas Baltrumas—a Lithuanian-born fashion designer and widow—in 1962. Known for his tailored suits and later a trademark monocle, Austin’s sartorial elegance was more than vanity: it was part of the persona he cultivated, one that blended sophistication, discretion, and understated authority.
But his career in intelligence came to a sudden end following the Whitlam Government’s controversial 1973 raid on ASIO’s offices, authorised by Attorney-General Lionel Murphy. Disillusioned, Austin resigned that year and transitioned to the corporate world.
A Corporate Statesman
Roderick Carnegie, then CEO of Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd (CRA), recruited Austin as executive manager for corporate relations. By 1974, he was also serving as President and Representative Director of Rio Tinto-Zinc (Japan), cementing his presence in the Asia-Pacific business community.
Austin represented CRA in business councils across the region—Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Korea—and served on influential bodies such as the ASEAN-Australia Business Council and the Australia-Japan Foundation (1981–86). In parallel, he pursued public service through roles with the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australiana Fund, and the Australia Council for the Arts.
A Retirement Rich in Culture
Upon retiring in 1986, Austin and his wife settled in Queensland, where he continued a deep commitment to the arts and education. He chaired the trustees of the Queensland Art Gallery (1987–95), helped expand its Asian and Pacific collections, and served on Griffith University’s council, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate.
In 1995, he received Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun. Other honours included his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1982) and Officer of the Order of Australia (1996). Fluent in Japanese and competent in several other languages, he also authored two books—The Narrow Road to a Far Country (1991) and The Shadow of the Durian(1993)—offering a sophisticated and deeply personal reflection on Asia through the eyes of a soldier, diplomat and businessman.
Legacy
Richard Austin died on 17 May 2000 at Buderim, Queensland, aged 81. He was cremated, survived by his wife Arija. The couple had no children, but their legacy endures. In 2014, Austin was posthumously awarded the inaugural Gallery Medal by the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. Arija’s 2015 bequest of over 200 artworks and the couple’s remaining collection to the University of the Sunshine Coast ensured that their patronage would continue to benefit the community.