David Lowe, Australian between Empires: The Life of Percy Spender, Pickering & Chatto.

Edwards, Peter

David Lowe, Australian between Empires: The Life of Percy Spender, Pickering & Chatto, London, 2010. pp. xi + 237. US $99.00 cloth.

As was often observed around the time of the publication of the most recent biography of John Howard, Australians have generally been much more interested in reading about Labor than non-Labor politicians. The presidentialisation of our politics has also seen an increasing focus on Prime Ministers to the extent that it seems that only Prime Ministers, and aspirants for that position, are sufficiently interesting to warrant a full-length biography. Yet here is a biography of a non-Labor politician who never made it to The Lodge, and whose most important ministerial term lasted only 16 months.

Notwithstanding its brevity, Percy Spender's term as Minister for External Affairs (as the Foreign Affairs portfolio was known until 1970) was one of the most significant ministerial terms in twentieth-century Australian politics. The two great themes of Australian foreign policy since World War II have been the US alliance and engagement with Asia. The most spectacular examples of the interaction of those two themes have been Australian involvement in conflicts on Asian soil, fighting as part of a US-led coalition. During the 16 months between December 1949 and April 1951, when Spender was the first Minister for External Affairs in the post-war Coalition government led by Robert Menzies, he was a central figure in negotiating both the ANZUS Treaty and the Colombo Plan, foundation stones of the alliance and Asian engagement respectively. Moreover, Spender was a key figure in Australia's commitment to the Korean War, the first of the major post-1945 commitments in Asia. In all of these developments Spender was markedly ahead of his Prime Minister. Menzies doubted whether a treaty relationship with the US could be achieved and Spender faced similar scepticism over the Colombo Plan from several members of the Menzies Cabinet. Thanks to Spender's fast footwork, Menzies was presented with the Australian commitment to Korea as a fait accompli, having been out of contact at the crucial time.

One of the strengths of this biography is the nuanced charting of the relationship between Spender and Menzies, before and after as well as during this period. The Howard, Rudd and Gillard governments have dedicated themselves to the view that there must never be the slightest hint of a difference in emphasis--'not a crack of light'--between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. As this review is written, the Gillard government has reasserted this maxim, as Kevin Rudd is appointed Foreign Minister. Leading politicians on all sides would do well to read this biography and reflect on the achievements that have been made when the Prime Minister of the day cuts a little slack for an independently minded, assertive and intellectually strong Foreign Minister.

David Lowe also brings out some of the similarities in style and personality that Spender had with his predecessor, and fellow alumnus of Fort Street High School and the Sydney University law school, Dr H.V. Evatt. There were, of course, major changes in substance and style when Menzies and Spender replaced Ben Chifley and Doc Evatt, but there were also more continuities than some partisans of either side are keen to acknowledge.

These insights are some the merits of a fine biography. Spender's own two volumes of memoirs have told his story, and they remain important sources for the study of Australian foreign policy. But it is valuable to place Spender's brief but significant term as Minister for External Affairs, and his role in wartime politics on which he also wrote, in the context of his entire life and career. Especially valuable is the discussion of Spender's time as Ambassador in Washington, the position he held for most of the 1950s and which his colleagues thought he was trying to turn into an extension of his ministerial term. Some of the most interesting insights come from the writings of his wife Jean--not so much her name-dropping memoir Ambassador's Wife as her seven murder mysteries, with titles like Death Comes in the Night and Murder on the Prowl.

David Lowe, a professor at Deakin University, is one of Australia's leading international historians and one who takes a closer interest in historiographical and theoretical debates than some in the field. The title of the book, Australian between Empires, and its appearance in a series called Empires in Perspective, place the narrative in a context with which some historians, more strictly empirical in their approach, might find a little distracting. Lowe does, however, make some interesting points about the nature of the Australian-American relationship as it existed, and the one to which Spender aspired. He is an excellent guide, not only to the way in which Australian leaders have sought to place the county in the wider world, but also to the broader intellectual context of Australian historiography.

The publishers have not treated the author as well as he deserves. The book is published in an unduly small font, with inset quotations even smaller. There are some minor errors in facts, as well as spelling, punctuation and syntax, which are inconsistent with this author's usual precision and accuracy. Those concerns aside, this an impressive piece of scholarship by one of the leading historians of Australian foreign policy, based at one of the few universities outside Canberra that takes this topic seriously. This book, like others by both the author and the subject, are essential reading for anyone seriously interested in Australian foreign policy, either current or historical.

PETER EDWARDS

Flinders University