In October 1962, the world was brought to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. The Cuban
Missile Crisis marked the closest the United States (US) and the Soviet Union came to
military conflict that might have led to nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. This
thesis investigates the Australian Government’s policy response to the crisis. In doing
so, it makes an original contribution to Australian Cold War history and to the extensive
literature on the crisis.
The Australian Government’s policy response to the crisis is examined in the context of
the Australia-US alliance. A diplomatic history, this thesis relies heavily on declassified
government records from Australian and American archives. Additionally, oral history
interview transcripts, audio-visual materials, Hansard, newspapers, and private
collections, were consulted in order to reconstruct comprehensively Australia’s policy
on this matter and the factors that shaped it.
This thesis examines: Australia’s awareness of the Cuban situation; the Menzies
Government’s policy on the crisis, specifically, factors it considered—and did not
consider—in formulating its policy; and the Government’s immediate implementation
of that policy, including the reactions of some sections of the Australian community to
that policy. It demonstrates that despite limited advance notice and awareness of the
Cuban situation, the Government swiftly declared support for the US in the crisis,
specifically, its resolution to be presented to the United Nations Security Council. It reveals that certain politicians, diplomats, and public servants were concerned about:
Australia’s obligations under the Australia New Zealand United States Security Treaty;
the legality of the US response; the precedent set by the quarantine; the implications of
US policy on the crisis regarding Australian nuclear ambitions; Australia maintaining its
trade relationship with Cuba; and the repercussions the crisis could have on collective
defence arrangements, which Australia relied on for its security. Despite these concerns
and challenges, the Government considered the successful management of the US
alliance paramount in formulating and implementing its policy on the crisis.