Jeremy Hearder, ‘People just listened to him’ The Esteemed Career of Diplomat James Plimsoll

The Menzies era was in many respects the golden age of the Department of External Affairs (now Foreign Affairs). The first Australian diplomatic postings outside of the British Commonwealth had been made by Menzies’s wartime government, so when he returned to power in 1949 Australia was still forging its diplomatic network. This adolescence and growth gave great opportunities for young, ambitious and talented people to make a name for themselves, and a classic example of this is James Plimsoll. Plimsoll had a stellar career in which he became a crucial confidant of the Korean President, served as Australian Ambassador to the United States, and topped it all off by being appointed Governor of Tasmania. His story shows how Australia found its feet on the world stage. 

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Jeremy Hearder, veteran diplomat and biographer of James Plimsoll, about one of Australia’s most stellar foreign representatives. 

Jeremy V. R. Hearder is an Australian author and historian, and former diplomat and public servant. He was Australia's first High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, High Commissioner to Fiji, and is the author of the biography Jim Plim: Ambassador Extraordinary. Hearder joined the Department of in 1959, and has first-hand experience of its operation under the Menzies Government, as well as a personal connection to Plimsoll.