Barrie Dexter

Barrie Dexter
CBE
Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
In office
9 January 1973 – 20 January 1977
Personal details
Born Barrie Graham Dexter
(1921-07-15) 15 July 1921
Kilsyth, Victoria, Australia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Public servant

Barrie Graham Dexter CBE (born 15 July 1921)[1] is a retired Australian senior diplomat and public servant in the Department of External Affairs and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Department of External Affairs

Dexter was a senior diplomat in the Department of External Affairs (later called Foreign Affairs) with a number of postings including:[2][3][4][5]

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.[6]

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

Following the referendum in 1967 which removed provisions in the Australian Constitution which discriminated against Indigenous Australians, the Prime Minister Harold Holt invited Dexter to join the anthropologist W. E. H. Stanner 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.[7] The Council for Aboriginal Affairs led Australian policy on Aboriginal development, landownership and identity politics 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 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 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.[7][8]

Dexter held that position through successive political regimes, including the Whitlam Government, 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.[9] Dexter also employed Charles Perkins to the role of Research Officer.[10]

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.[11]

The Council and Dexter were instrumental in the development of Land Title policy for Australia.[12]

Dexter was the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from its creation in late 1972 by Gough Whitlam, 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 (CBE) in 1981.[1][13]

ANU Conference in 2005

In 2005, the Australian National University 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.[7][14][15]

Personal life

Dexter is 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.[16]

Dexter was the Honorary Secretary of the Turner National Football Club for many years.[17]

Books and publications

In 2015 Dexter published a memoir titled Pandora's Box which was widely publicised.[18][19]

References

  1. 1 2 AIATSIS
  2. ↑ J.S.Legge, ed. (1971). Who’s Who in Australia 1971. XXth Edition. Melbourne: The Herald and Weekly Times Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  3. ↑ J.S.Legge, ed. (1973). Who’s Who 1973. 125th year of issue. London: Adam and Charles Black. ISBN 0-7136-1348-3. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  4. ↑ J.S.Legge M.B.E., ed. (1977). Who’s Who in Australia 1977. XXIInd Edition. Melbourne: The Herald and Weekly Times Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  5. ↑ W.J.Draper, ed. (1980). Who’s Who in Australia 1980. XXIIIrd Edition. Melbourne: The Herald and Weekly Times Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Portrait of Barrie Dexter, secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, 1973". Photo. Australian Information Service. 1973. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Melinda Hinkson; Jeremy Beckett; Jon Altman; Barrie Dexter (2008). An Appreciation of Difference: WEH Stanner, Aboriginal Australia and Anthropology. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 978-0-85575-660-4.
  8. ↑ Rowse, Tim (2000). Obliged to Be Difficult: Nugget Coombs' Legacy in Indigenous Affairs. Cambridge University Press.
  9. ↑ Altman 2008, pp 274–8
  10. ↑ Robin Hughes (1998). "Charles Perkins". Full Interview Transcript. Film Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  11. ↑ G. Foley (15 November 1999). "ATSIC: Flaws in the Machine.". The Koori History Website. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  12. ↑ Dexter, Barrie (1971). Commonwealth policy in relation to land and related matters. Barrie Dexter papers. Menzies Library, Australian National University, Canberra.
  13. ↑ It's an Honour
  14. ↑ W.E.H. Stanner (24–25 November 2005). "W.E.H.Stanner – Anthropologist & public intellectual". An Appreciation of Difference: WEH Stanner, Aboriginal Australia and Anthropology. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  15. ↑ Australian National University; Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (2005). W. E. H. Stanner: Anthropologist and Public Intellectual. Australian National University. A two-day symposium to mark the centenary of the birth of W. E. H. Stanner 24–25 November 2005.
  16. ↑ "Flying Visit from Perth". The Argus. 30 May 1950. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "Turner National Football Club". The Canberra Times. 29 March 1950. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  18. ↑ Barry Graham Dexter (2014). Pandora's Box: The Council for Aboriginal Affairs 1967-76 (Softcover). Australian Scholarly Publishing. ISBN 1925003485. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  19. ↑ Daley, Paul (29 May 2015). "When two old foes opened Pandora's box, it unleashed an unlikely reconciliation". The Guardian.
Government offices
Preceded by
Lenox Hewitt		 Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
1973–1977 		Succeeded by
David Hay
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Bertram Ballard		 Australian High Commissioner to Ghana (Acting)
1963–1964 		Succeeded by
J.E. Ryan
Preceded by
A.M. Morris		 Australian Ambassador to Laos
1965–1967 		Succeeded by
J.E. Ryan
Preceded by
John Ryan		 Australian High Commissioner to Canada
1980–1983 		Succeeded by
Rowen Osborn
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