Waiting 'round the Bend

The river of Howard Debenham's life rounded many bends and delivered experiences that ranged widely from dangerous and ugly to exhilarating, humbling and humorous.



From a sometimes testing childhood in country hometown Australia, he joined the still fledgling Department of External Affairs in 1961.



His life in Australia's Foreign Service took him through eleven overseas postings in nine countries - India twice, South Korea, Japan twice, Israel, Italy, Yugoslavia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the USA.



He was Consul-General in Bangkok and Tokyo, Minister/Counsellor and Consul-General in Washington DC, High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and State Director for Queensland.



His recollections provide a candid, refreshing, and at times irreverent, insight into life in Australia's Foreign Service.