Now I can cut forward to 1961–62. This is when I was recruited by Sir John Crawford, recently appointed as Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies, to be Professor of International Relations. When appointed, he had required that International Relations should be returned to his Research School after a period in the Political Science department in the Research School of Social Sciences, following a chaotic and confused life subject to major disturbances.^[1]

Crawford’s account of the state of the department was not encouraging. Its few members had been given the choice to stay with Political Science or come to Pacific Studies, and the brightest and the one acquainted with current American Scholarship, Arthur Burns, had elected to stay. Only George Modelski had a training in international relations. There needed to be an expansion.

My thoughts soon turned to Hedley. While I was at Leicester, he had gone from strength to strength. Martin Wight and Alastair Buchan had taken him to their hearts, Manning approved, he had had an American debut, and he was clearly the man of the future in British International Relations. Crawford told me that there was a Professorial Fellowship available if I could find a suitable candidate. I told Hedley I would nominate him for it if he wanted to come back to Australia.

He said he wanted to do so eventually, but it was too soon. He had a lot to do in London. So the job went to Modelski, but my eyes were still on Hedley.

So they remained until I went on study leave in London in late 1965. Hedley had meanwhile been made head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit in the Foreign Office, while retaining his Readership at the LSE. We met for lunch one cold day, and I told him that I was prepared to arrange with Crawford for a second chair in the Department, with joint headship, provided it went to Hedley if his references were satisfactory. (Crawford told me afterwards that he had never seen such impressive references anywhere.) I told Hedley that I was pretty sure my demand would be accepted by The Australian National University, and that no future time would be so ripe. After consideration, he said yes, and on returning to Canberra I set the machinery in motion. It worked, and in June 1967 he and the family arrived.