Bill Robertson (Australian intelligence officer)

William ("Bill") Thomas Robertson CBE, MC (2 February 1917 – 2 January 2011) was one of the founders of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), and served as the agency's Director-General from 1968 until he was sacked by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in controversial circumstances in 1975. He also served in World War II as an infantry officer and the chief of staff of an Australian and two British divisions.[1][2][3][4]

When he was a captain in the Australian Army, Robertson was wounded during the capture of Tobruk from Italian forces.[5] After this incident, Robertson was posted in Greece to fight against German forces.[6] Later in New Guinea, by now promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and filling a senior liaison officer role, Robertson was ordered to inspect the US Army perimeter at Buna. Robertson was unsatisfied with what he saw, and reported his observations to General Edmund Herring, and General Richard K. Sutherland who was also present at the time.[7] Consequently, Douglas MacArthur made changes to the US Army command at Buna.

In August 1943, Robertson was again promoted, this time to the position of General Staff Officer, Grade 1 to George Vasey, and Commanding Officer of the 7th AIF Division. During the Salamaua-Lae campaign, Vasey sent Robertson to Port Moresby to seek better relations with the US Army, and his manner was said to have surprised both the USAAF's General George Kenney and General Frank Berryman. Robertson later wrote to Vasey that he had succeeded in his task. Robertson, as Vasey's senior staff officer, was later involved in an operation following the capture of a Japanese order document.[8]

During World War II, Robertson served in Europe with the British Army 51st (Highland) Infantry Division in March 1944.[9]

During the lead up to Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 1975, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) paid a Dili-based Australian businessman Frank Favaro for information on local political developments. The leaking of his identity in late 1975 led to a confrontation between the then Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Bill Robertson, the head of ASIS, resulting in the sacking of the intelligence agency director on 21 October 1975, to take effect on 7 November.[10][11] Bill Robertson disputes the reason for his dismissal in documents lodged with the National Archives in 2009.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Robertson, Malcolm (7 January 2011). "War hero founded spy agency". The Age. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Robertson". The Telegraph. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Downer, Alexander. "Australian Secret Intelligence Service". Questions in Writing. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Obituary, Courier Mail
  5. ↑ Volume I – To Benghazi
  6. ↑ Volume II – Greece, Crete and Syria
  7. ↑ Volume V – South–West Pacific Area
  8. ↑ Volume V – South–West Pacific Area
  9. ↑ Volume VII – The Final Campaigns
  10. ↑ "ASIS – Favaro affair". Nautilus Institute. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Intelligence boss showed strength". The Age. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  12. ↑ Suich, Max (20 March 2010). "Spymaster stirs spectre of covert foreign activities". The Australian. Retrieved 30 October 2016.

External links

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