FROM THE NEWSPAPERS - 1947 - Michael Thwaites - The Rhodes Scholar who Attended Yallourn State School 4085

1947 THE RHODES SCHOLAR WHO ATTENDED YALLOURN STATE SCHOOL 4085
This news article was published in ‘The Argus’ and tells of Michael Thwaites’ impending return to Australia, from England, to take up a teaching post at Melbourne University in 1947.
Michael Thwaites was a student at Yallourn State School 4085. In later years, while studying at Melbourne University, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and came to be regarded as one of our nation’s leading academics.
In the comments, related to Yallourn State School, in the 1973 publication of ‘Vision and Realisation’ it is briefly mentioned that …
“Perhaps the outstanding ex-pupil of Yallourn S.S. is Michael Thwaites, a Rhodes Scholar.” Page 1321.
Michael also received a passing mention in Prue McGoldrick’s ‘Yallourn Was’ where it is stated that …
“ Michael Thwaites, who had started his school days under Mr Eddy in the first school and attended Melbourne University…..” Page 100.
The name Michael Thwaites may be a puzzle for many former residents of Yallourn because his family dwelt in the township for only a comparatively short time. However, it is hoped that the notes that accompany this news report will give readers a greater appreciation of a boy who attended Yallourn State School and, in time, won fame for his poetry and brilliant intellect.
____________________________________________________________________
February 28th 1947 “The Argus’ Page 3
Rhodes Scholar Lecturer
At University
Mr Michael Rayner Thwaites, Victorian Rhodes Scholar for 1936, has been appointed Rehabilitation Lecturer in Literature at Melbourne University, and will shortly return to Australia from England to take up the post.
He was at Oxford when war broke out, and volunteered for service in the RNVR, in which he gained a commission. He saw service on Atlantic convoy routes.
Mr Thwaites, a poet of some distinction, was awarded the Newdigate Prize and Royal Medal for Poetry for his poem "Milton Blind." One of his war epics, "Jervis Bay," commemorated the battle of the converted liner Jervis Bay against a German warship.
He was educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School, Geelong Grammar School, and Trinity College, Melbourne University, where he won several athletic championships.
In 1940 he married Miss Honor Good, of Geelong, at Oxford.
NOTES ON ‘THE ARGUS’ EXTRACT, MICHAEL THWAITES & FAMILY
1. Michael Rayner Thwaites was born in Brisbane in 1915. Michael’s father (Robert Ernest), a former Oxford scholar had immigrated to Australia in 1911. His mother (Jessie Elizabeth) was the daughter of Sir Hugh Nelson, the former Premier of Queensland from 1893 until 1898.
2. ‘The Argus’ article stated that Michael and Honor were married in 1940, however according to Peter Thwaites (Michael’s son) the actual date of their wedding was the 23rd December 1939.
3. Michael had one brother Peter Nelson. Peter was born in Brisbane in 1917. (See points 45 and 46 in the notes below).
4. Michael’s father had graduated with honours in the Final Natural Science School (Chemistry) at Oxford University and was a noted authority on matters related to shale oil, coal liquefaction and alternate uses for coal.
5. Robert was the author of a sixty-page book entitled: ‘The production of liquid fuels from oil shale and coal in Australia.’ The book was published in 1923. The contents of that publication may have been of interest to Sir John Monash and the SECV Commissioners in their future hopes and plans for the coal mine at Yallourn.
6. In reading about Michael’s father, it is fair to say that he was a man ahead of his times in the Australian scientific community. Robert stated before a Public Accounts Committee hearing in 1925 that…
“…3,000,000 gallons of motor spirit could be obtained from 1,000,000 tons of Maitland coal carbonised every year by the gas companies…. He advocated the establishment by the Commonwealth of a fuel research committee.” ‘Queensland Times’ February 24th 1925.
7. With such qualifications and strong scientific background, Robert Thwaites would have been a major asset to the SECV in those early days of the mine’s operation. The brown coal of Yallourn presented various problems (eg moisture content) for the Commission and by 1924 the briquette factory had commenced commercial operation. Robert’s expertise, as a research chemist, would have been a ‘godsend’ to the SECV; and seems to explain the arrival of the Thwaites family to Yallourn.
8. Robert, Jessie and the boys relocated to Yallourn in the mid 1920’s. It is difficult to pin-point when the family took up residence; but Prue McGoldrick’s research indicates that Michael was a student at State School 4085 during the time when Mr Eddy was the Principal (1925).
9. In the time that Michael Thwaites was a pupil at Yallourn, student numbers were increasing quite markedly; enrolments had swollen from 15 in 1921 to more than 140 by 1925. It is in this period, that the original school building (in Hillside) proved inadequate for the burgeoning number of pupils and was relocated to Outlook Road.
10. The Thwaites family would have been provided with a ‘new’ home; as in that era more than 120 homes had been built and were being occupied by the employees and their families. Most of the houses, constructed in those early years of settlement, were in Maiden Street, Hillside, Maryvale and Reservoir Roads.
11. Michael’s son (Peter) forwarded the following information regarding his father’s years in Yallourn…
“Michael's memoir states that they lived in Yallourn for two years, during which he and his brother Peter attended the Yallourn State School. He writes that the family house was "white stuccoed brick in the midst of a cleared clay field", half a mile from the school. The two years seem to have been 1925-1926, before they moved back to Melbourne in 1927. That was when R.E. Thwaites had a serious illness and ceased to be employed by the SEC. He was later appointed Principal of Ballarat College and held that position through 1933-1945 (13 years).” Peter Thwaites. March 2015.
12. It is known that Michael was a fine athlete; and the name ‘Thwaites’ appeared in the results of a cricket match in 1926 between the ‘Yallourn Scouts’ and ‘Morwell Scouts.’ If it was Michael, he had a dreadful time at the batting crease that day; as he failed to score in both innings. Other family names that readers may recognise, in the Yallourn Scouts XI, were: Challender, Calder, Dann, Erikson, Hannon, Kiernan, Whitaker and Crawford. The Yallourn boys were bowled out for 37 runs in the first innings; and a collapse in the second innings saw the team routed for only 13 runs. Morwell Scouts won the match by nine wickets.
13 In his memoirs Michael mentioned that he and his brother attended the Anglican Sunday School in Yallourn (though the family were not regular churchgoers) and during that time "the seed of prayer was sown in my mind".
14 Mr R.E. Thwaites was mentioned in the ‘Werribee Shire Banner’ in an article regarding the extraction of oil from coal in 1927.
15 Michael left Yallourn in 1927 and attended Ivanhoe Grammar School. Michael’s sporting ability while at Ivanhoe drew a brief comment in ‘The Australasian’…
“He was quite a little chap at Ivanhoe In 1927 and 1928, but he won a place in the athletic team…” November 1936.
16 There is a suggestion in one text that Michael won a scholarship to Geelong Grammar in 1929. He was a stand-out student at Geelong and was elected as a prefect and won praise for his studies in the classics.
17 It is in that period that he began to show a strong passion for poetry and prose. Michael also dominated the running track and was captain of the school athletics team. Michael was eighteen years of age when he took his place at Melbourne University in 1933.
18 While studying at Melbourne University, Michael was a resident at Trinity College and led a very active life in the choir and drama group; he was also the editor of the Melbourne University Magazine in 1936. Michael excelled in his academic pursuits and won several prestigious awards in his studies in Greek and Latin.
19 Michael won a ‘Blue’ (major university award) for athletics and won the University sprint championships. It is known that during Michael’s time at University, his father had taken up the position of Headmaster at Ballarat College. It is difficult to establish when the Thwaites family left Yallourn but it is known that Robert had taken up the position of Headmaster at Ballarat College in 1933.
20 In 1934 Robert was mentioned in an article related to Ballarat College’s 70th Anniversary. Robert received considerable praise for the excellent rapport he had established with the students. His previous work, as a chemist at Yallourn, is also mentioned in the article…
“…and for a year did study in mathematics and physics at the University of Gottingen in Germany. This knowledge he turned to practical use at Yallourn, where he was for some time engaged in research work.” ‘The Argus’
21 In 1936, at the age of 21 years, Michael was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. The three year scholarship was worth £400 (pounds) per annum….which is equivalent to $34,600 in today’s currency.
22 Michael was the first student from Yallourn S.S. 4085 to study at Oxford University; and it appears that very few people in Yallourn were aware of Michael’s great achievement.
23 ‘The Age’ carried a large photograph of Michael next to the story about Michael’s success. Some newspapers in Shepparton, Albury, Wagga Wagga and Hobart gave column space to Michael’s accomplishment but it is difficult to find any such mention in the ‘Morwell Advertiser.’ Perhaps the Yallourn ‘Live Wire’ reported the event but more research is required to validate this possibility.
24 In 1938 Michael won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry. Michael’s poem was entitled ‘Milton Blind.’ Other famous identities to win the Newdigate Award include Matthew Arnold (1843), Oscar Wilde (1878), John Buchan (1898) and Julian Huxley (1908). It is fascinating that a former pupil from Yallourn S.S. 4085 is listed with such luminaries. It is documented that Michael is the only Australian to have ever won the Newdigate Prize…he certainly was the only boy from Yallourn to take out any such award!
25 Michael was awarded the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry. It was around this time (1939) that he married Honor Mary Scott Good. Michael and Honor had met in earlier times at Melbourne University.
26 Honor was born in 1914 in Young (NSW); her father, Dr R.N. Scott Good, had taken up a medical practice in the town in 1913. Honor graduated from Melbourne University with honours in German and French.
27 According to John Farquarson, Honor … “had become the love of his (Michael’s) life.” They were married at Oxford which is known as the ‘city of dreaming spires.’ Michael and Honor were to raise four children (Peter, Penelope, Richard and John aka ‘Joe’ ). Sadly, another child, Robert Muir Thwaites, died in infancy in Dumfries, Scotland in 1941.
28 Michael was at Oxford University when war with Germany was declared and he enlisted in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Honor also played her part during those dark years in Europe. It is documented that during World War: II, Honor aided victims of Nazi persecution to find refuge in the U.K
29 Michael’s book entitled ‘Atlantic Odyssey’ (published in 1999) gives a vivid account of his time on active service with the British Royal Navy during World War:II.
30 Robert died on February 17th 1946 at a private hospital in Ballarat. Michael’s mother (Jessie) passed away in August of the same year; and according to the ‘The Argus’ Jessie’s funeral service was conducted at Fawkner Crematorium.
31 In 1947 Michael returned to Australia (see ‘The Argus’ report above) and began lecturing at Melbourne University in English. During this period, Michael also wrote a feature column in ‘The Age’ newspaper. At various junctures throughout his life, his articles were also published in ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Telegraph’ and ‘The Sydney Morning Herald.’
32 Following friendly, perhaps heavy, persuasion from Colonel Charles Spry, Michael left Melbourne University and took up a position in the counter-espionage agency of ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organization) in 1950. He worked as a senior analyst with ASIO for more than 20 years.
33 One of Michael’s books entitled ‘Truth Will Out’ (1980) dealt with the political controversy that transpired during the Petrov affair in 1954. The Petrov case was high drama as stories of international surveillance, spies, KGB agents, political intrigue and the defection of Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov swamped the radio broadcasts and newspapers of the day.
34 For younger readers, the Petrov affair was Australia’s most dramatic Cold War incident and the internet carries thousands of articles and summaries of those events.
35 In 1971, Michael was appointed to the position of Assistant Parliamentary Librarian in Canberra. He was given credit for further developing the reference and research facilities for the use of MP’s and staff.
36 While working at Parliament House, Michael continued to write and a summary of his acclaimed work can be found at the ‘michael.thwaites.info’ website….
“His poems reflect the experiences of an unusually varied life, including six years at sea in the Navy in World War II, lecturing in English at Melbourne University, direction of counter-espionage in ASIO in the Stalin era, and deputy head of the Parliamentary Library in Canberra.
His best known poems include ‘The Jervis Bay,’ ‘The Prophetic Hour’ and ‘Message to My Grandson.’ His collected poems spanning 1932 to 2004 were published as ‘Unfinished Journey’ which won the 2005 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards for poetry.”
37 Michael and Honor wrote the lyrics for the hymn ‘For Australia’ which was sung at the Bicentennial Celebration at Sydney Cove on Australia Day 1988, and at the opening of the new Parliament House in Canberra in the same year. It continues to be used at national occasions."
38 Michael appears to have been highly regarded and admired by all; and his values and beliefs are said to have echoed in his writings…..
“Much of his poetry was written for people or about people reflecting his innate humanity, while also giving expression to his love for his country and for Canberra which he always unashamedly ‘talked up’. His Christian faith, strengthened and deepened through his lifelong involvement with Moral Re-Armament, also infused much of his verse, as did his feeling for family, wife, children and for Australia’s Aboriginal people, mirrored in the poem for the burial of Yarmuk, Elder of the Ulupna Tribe on the Murray in 1959.” Written by John Farquharson.
39 In 1988, Honor financed and had erected a memorial and plaque in the Mt Ainslie bushland-park as a tribute to those Aboriginal people who had served in the Australian Armed Forces. That action says much about Honor and her strong connection with the land and her feelings for indigenous people.
40 As a result of the efforts of Honor and other supporters, the park was officially gazetted in 1978 as the Remembrance Nature Park..."
41 Honor died in 1993, ‘The Telegraph’( UK), reported…
“After his wife's death in 1993, he (Michael) liked to walk with friends in Remembrance Park, which she had helped to create on Mount Ainslie in Canberra.” November 2005.
42 In 2002 Michael was the recipient of the Order of Australia. His citation read… “For service to the community, to the Anglican Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn, and to literature as an author of poetry and narrative works reflecting the emergence of Australia's nationhood.”
43 Michael Rayner Thwaites died in November 2005. Both Michael and Honor are buried in Canberra. Two inscribed plaques, in memory of Michael and Honor, have been placed in the gardens of St John’s Anglican Church.
44 Some years ago, the Michael Thwaites Poetry Award was introduced to encourage emerging local poets to publish their works.
45 Michael’s brother, Peter Nelson Thwaites, was also a man of great distinction having been awarded an OBE in 1977. Like Michael, Peter served with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the Atlantic and with the RANVR in the Pacific during World War:II.
46 Peter’s long list of accomplishments includes the Principal of Ballarat College and also the Principal of Geelong College. In 1978 he was appointed as the Chancellor of Deakin University. Peter probably attended Yallourn State School 4085 in the 1920’s. A summary of Peter’s extensive achievements in education can be found at : gnet.geelongcollege.vic.edu.au
47 Michael’s daughter, Penelope (born in 1944), achieved fame as a concert pianist and composer. Penelope received an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 2001. She is regarded as a leading exponent of the music of Percy Grainger and it is documented that Penelope has recorded more than 250 tracks of Percy’s music.
48 Other well-known Australian Rhodes Scholars include Bob Hawke, Sir Zelman Cowan, Howard Florey, Tony Abbott, Kim Beazley and Malcolm Turnbull. Since the inception of the Rhodes Scholarship in 1903, more than 7000 men and women have won the coveted prize.
CONCLUSION
Finally, these brief notes can hardly do justice to man who distinguished himself in so many ways throughout his life. Michael was a diligent student, gifted writer and a man of immense humility and creativity.
He was a truly great Australian and the school at Yallourn can make some ‘small claim’ on being a positive influence in Michael’s formative years. Michael’s remarkable journey from Yallourn to Oxford, including several important stops along the way, and back home to Australia makes for another absorbing chapter in Yallourn’s enduring history.
A NOTE OF APPRECIATION
The Virtual Yallourn website would like to publically thank Michael’s son, Peter Thwaites and John Farquharson for their kind assistance in compiling the above notes.
Peter was most generous in giving his time to discuss his father’s life for this story for the Virtual Yallourn website. He was aware that Michael had lived briefly in Yallourn and he expressed great interest in the town and this website. He also obliged in proof reading the draft for the above notes and helped in clarifying certain points of the lives of Michael and Honor.
During his 22 years with the ‘Canberra Times,’ John Farquharson was, among other things, the Chief of Staff, News Editor, Assistant Editor and Deputy Editor. John was most supportive in arranging contact with Peter to assist with this story.
John’s comprehensive essay on Michael Thwaites can be found at ‘Obituaries Australia’…oa.anu.edu.au . Sincere thanks to Peter and John.
SOURCES
‘Fleur-de-lys 1937’ Volume; 4 (Trinity College)
‘Yallourn Was.’ Prue McGoldrick
‘Vision and Realization’: Volume 3 - 1973
Various editions of ‘The Age,’ “The Argus,’ ‘Morwell Advertiser,’ and the Queensland Times.
John Farquharson: ‘Obituaries Australia’ (ANU)
The Chronicle of Australia.
‘Forebear with Me’.blogspot.com.au
‘Lest We Forget’ : Ann Brennan.
‘About the Author’ …michael.thwaites .com.au
‘Anglican News’: August 2013.
This story was researched and written by: Roger Spaull for the Virtual Yallourn website. (February 2015).
Any readers who may have articles, photographs and memorabilia related to the Thwaites family’s time in Yallourn are kindly asked to consider forwarding such items to Julie George for posting on the website. Thank you.

The above article from ‘The Argus’ has been faithfully reproduced. The only amendments to the original copy are the font style, font size and spacing so as to enhance the article for purposes of posting on the Virtual Yallourn website.