Barrie Graham Dexter (15 July 1921
– 13 April 2018) was an Australian senior diplomat and public servant in the Department of External Affairs and the

Department of Aboriginal Affairs The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and March 1990. History The department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established b ...

Early life

Born on 15 July 1921, Dexter was brought up in a series of Anglican vicarages and educated on a scholarship at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

. His father had fought in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

Department of External Affairs

Dexter joined the Department of External Affairs as a cadet in 1948. He graduated from his cadetship alongside

Neil Currie Sir Neil Smith Currie (20 August 1926 – 30 July 1999) was a senior Australian public servant and policymaker. Life and career Neil Currie was born on 20 August 1926 in Mackay, Queensland. Currie began his Commonwealth public service career ...

and Rowen Osborn. Dexter went on to become a senior diplomat in the Department of External Affairs (called

Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

from 1970 to 1987) with a number of postings including: * London and Lebanon (Arabic language training) 1950–51 * Cairo – Egypt (3rd Secretary) 1951–53 * Karachi – Pakistan (1st Secretary) 1956–58 * Washington – USA 1960–63 * Accra – Ghana (Acting High Commissioner) 1963–64 * Vientiane – Laos (as Ambassador) 1964–68 * Belgrade – Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria (as Ambassador) 1977–80 * Ottawa – Canada (as High Commissioner) 1980–82 His "experience in countries with indigenous and ethnic minorities" resulted in him being appointed to the Commonwealth Council for Aboriginal Affairs, formed to advise on national policy.

Commonwealth Council for Aboriginal Affairs (1967–76) and Department of Aboriginal Affairs

Following the

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in 1967 which removed provisions in the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

which discriminated against

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

invited Dexter to join the anthropologist

W. E. H. Stanner William Edward Hanley Stanner CMG (24 November 19058 October 1981), often cited as W.E.H. Stanner, was an Australian anthropologist who worked extensively with Indigenous Australians. Stanner had a varied career that also included journalism in ...

and H. C. Coombs to form the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA) and advise on national policy. The Prime Minister also asked Dexter to be the Head of the Office of Aboriginal Affairs. The Council for Aboriginal Affairs (CAA) was a triumvirate, comprising Dexter, Coombs and Stanner. The Council for Aboriginal Affairs led Australian policy on Aboriginal development, landownership and

identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, Race (human categorization), race, nationality, religion, Religious denomination, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, social background ...

for almost a decade. Dexter wrote that, when Holt drowned in December 1967, the advantages that the Council for Aboriginal Affairs had hoped for by being part of the Prime Minister's Department did not eventuate. The next Prime Minister

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

was not interested in Aboriginal affairs, and his department was unfriendly. Gorton subsequently appointed W.C. Wentworth as Minister-in-charge. Later when

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...

became Prime Minister, the Council for Aboriginal Affairs became part of what Dexter called "an improbable creation", the Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts. Dexter wrote that Wentworth "would have liked to see us dissolved" but despite strong opposition from some parts of the Government, the Council for Aboriginal Affairs succeeded in developing an evolving stance on Aboriginal development, landownership and identity politics, its relationship with successive departments, ministers and prime ministers and also emerging indigenous bodies. The Council had a deep and complicated involvement in indigenous policy formation. Dexter held that position through successive political regimes, including the

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

, which began to implement much of the program Dexter, Stanner and Coombs endorsed: land rights, the movement to outstations, increased social welfare and community-based economies. Dexter also employed Charles Perkins to the role of Research Officer. The Council for Aboriginal Affairs was to function as a powerful, almost clandestine, agency that exercised considerable influence over federal Aboriginal affairs for more than a decade. The Council and Dexter were instrumental in the development of Land Title policy for Australia. Dexter was the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from its creation in late 1972 by

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

, until his retirement from the Department in 1976. He returned to diplomatic duties. He was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1981.

ANU Conference in 2005

In 2005, the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

commemorated the centenary of the birth of W.E.H. Stanner, one of its late professors of anthropology, with a conference discussing his lifetime achievements. Dexter presented on the pivotal role of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs.

Personal life

Dexter was the fifth son of the Rev. and Mrs. W. E. Dexter, of East Malvern. Barrie married Judith McWalter Craig of Perth in 1950. His father performed the marriage ceremony. Dexter was the Honorary Secretary of the Turner National Football Club for many years. Dexter died in Canberra on 13 April 2018 at the age of 96.Barrie Dexter: diplomat and pioneer in Aboriginal affairs
/ref>

Books and publications

In 2015 Dexter published a memoir titled ''Pandora's Box'' about the Council for Aboriginal Affairs 1967-1976 in which he detailed his service in the pursuit of a better deal for

under six prime ministers from

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

. His book was widely publicised.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Barrie 1921 births 2018 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to Bulgaria Ambassadors of Australia to Laos Ambassadors of Australia to Romania Ambassadors of Australia to Yugoslavia Australian Army soldiers Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Army personnel of World War II High commissioners of Australia to Canada High commissioners of Australia to Ghana People educated at Geelong Grammar School Royal Australian Navy officers Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian expatriates in Lebanon Australian expatriates in Pakistan Australian expatriates in the United States Australian expatriates in Ghana Public servants from Melbourne People from Yarra Ranges Military personnel from Melbourne