Paul Hasluck - Early Life

Early Life

Hasluck was born in Fremantle, Western Australia, into a family of Salvationists, whose values he retained throughout his career. He was educated at the prestigious Perth Modern School (where Prime Minister Bob Hawke was also educated) and at the prestigious University of Western Australia, where he graduated with a MA degree.

In 1923 Hasluck joined the literary staff of The West Australian newspaper, and also began to publish works on Western Australian history. He tutored in history at the University, and in 1939 he joined its faculty as a lecturer in history. In 1932 he married Alexandra Darker (1908–1993), with whom he had two sons. Alexandra Hasluck became a distinguished writer and historian in her own right, and was the first of only two women to be appointed a Dame of the Order of Australia.

In 1939 Hasluck established Freshwater Bay Press, through which he released his first book, Into the Desert. The advent of the Second World War however saw the publishing company go into hiatus. The Freshwater Bay Press was later revived by his son Nicholas, and amongst its subsequent publications it issued a second book of Paul Hasluck's poetry, Dark Cottage in 1984.

In 1941 Hasluck was recruited to the staff of the Department of External Affairs, and served on Australian delegations to several international conferences, including the San Francisco Conference which founded the United Nations. Here he came into close contact with the Minister for External Affairs in the Labor government, Dr H.V. Evatt, of whom he formed a negative impression.

After the war Hasluck returned to the University of Western Australia as a Reader in History, and was commissioned to write two volumes of Australia in the War of 1939–1945, a 22-volume official history of Australia's involvement in World War II. These volumes were published as The Government and the People 1939–1941 in 1951 and The Government and the People 1941–1945 in 1970. This work was interrupted by his decision to enter politics, a decision motivated partly by his disapproval of Evatt's foreign policy.