Australian spy had a hand in the Petrov affair

as posted here

RON CLEAVER

ASIO OFFICER

6-10-1914-26-12-2009

By SALLY DAVIS

FOR many years, family and friends of Ron Cleaver thought he worked in the federal public service. He did, but such a description hid the real nature of the service. In reality he helped develop Australia's fledgling national security service - ASIO.

ASIO had originally based its head office in Sydney in 1949, but then moved to Melbourne the following year where Cleaver was a founding officer - or as he proudly claimed, the "last of the 49ers".

His area of expertise was surveillance and he was responsible for recruiting and training ASIO officers in an era of international tension during the Cold War.

It was decades later before he revealed that he had lived in a safety house with Russian spies Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov following their defection to Australia. This was his part in the event known as the "Petrov Affair'', something that would have national and international ramifications. (In 1954, then prime minister Sir Robert Menzies announced the defection of Vladimir Petrov and a week later Mrs Petrov was escorted by two Soviet couriers on to a plane at Mascot airport. When it reached Darwin, she also defected.)

Cleaver's daughter, Paula, recalled in her father's eulogy some of the stories he had shared with the family about his ASIO life. This included the time when the ASIO chief Brigadier (later) Sir Charles Spry asked her father whether he would feel compromised working with a female agent on a particular surveillance case. In his inimitable, witty style, Cleaver assured the boss he was "flat out chopping the wood in his own back yard".

So after the surveillance was completed, Sir Charles Spry sent a handwritten letter of thanks to Cleaver - enclosed was a sharpening stone for his axe.

For the Cleaver children playing 'I spy' on car trips took on a new meaning. As relayed by Paula: "I remember Dad asked us to write down as many registration numbers as possible, of cars heading to a particular venue. It was many years later before I found out that those cars were attending a meeting of the Communist Party!"

A unique character, Cleaver had been dubbed with several monikers - but the nickname that caused him the most mirth was ''99''. As an inquisitive, aspiring journalist - and neighbour of the Cleavers - I told my parents that I was sure Ron worked for ASIO. My mother laughed it off and called Ron ''99'' after the character in the TV series Get Smart. Ron thought this was hilarious because Maxwell Smart was actually agent ''86'' whereas ''99'' was the female spy.

In a recent conversation, he told me for the first time about his role in ASIO and how proud he was that the organisation recently presented him with a medal honouring his work.

He also told me how concerned he was at the time that I had almost "blown his cover".

"I went along with the joke - being called '99' - but I told Betty at the time that I couldn't believe you figured it out."

Ron and Elizabeth (Betty) Cleaver, who survives him, married 70 years ago and raised their four children in Burwood. Their children Nola, Paula and Carl recalled his strong work ethic, his wit and his abiding love for them and their mother.

Born in Tasmania in 1914, just after the outbreak of World War 1, his life included navy service during World War II.

as posted here