Sir Walter Russell Crocker (25 March 190214 November 2002) was an Australian diplomat, writer and war veteran.
Life and career Crocker was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, the eldest son of Robert Crocker and Alma Bray. He served in World War II with the British Army, becoming a lieutenant colonel.
He was ambassador or high commissioner to eleven countries, including India (twice), Indonesia, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Nepal, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. He headed the Department of International Relations at the Research School of Pacific (and Asian) Studies, Australian National University, 1949–1954.S.G. Foster and Margaret Varghese, The Making of The Australian National University 1946-1996 (ANU Press, 2009), 51-2; 108.
Crocker was a Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia for more than nine years. He and his wife, Claire, had two sons, Robert and Christopher.
Crocker was interviewed in 1977, by T.B. Miller. The interview can be found at the National Library of Australia.Crocker, W.; Miller, T.B. (interviewer). (1977). Walter Crocker interviewed by T. B. Millar, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
Books Crocker authored a well-received biography of Jawaharlal Nehru titled Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate (1966).
Awards Crocker was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1955 while Australian Ambassador to Indonesia. He was later promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1977, in recognition of his service to the public.
References
Further reading
Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate by Walter Crocker with a Foreword by Arnold Toynbee (1966). New York: Oxford University Press.
External links The Memoirs of Sir Walter Crocker held at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge