His career proved to be long and successful, establishing himself as a successful diplomat across a number of postings, including to Moscow, Washington and Bangkok.[2] In 1943 whilst senior officer to the Australian Legation at Chungking, Waller married Alison Dent in Bombay, India.[6][7]
Waller was Australian Consul-General in Manila from 1948 to 1950. During this time he dealt with the fall-out of the Lorenzo Gamboa case, which saw a Filipino man separated from his wife and children due to the White Australia policy. He received death threats, but later downplayed its significance and dismissed it as a "trivial case".[8]
He was appointed Secretary of the Department of External Affairs (later Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970), retiring from the public service in 1974 on his 60th birthday.[9]
Waller in Siberia, 1960s
Soon after his retirement, Waller prepared a brief assessing the Australian Government security and intelligence apparatus as it existed in the mid-1970s.[10]
Waller died in Canberra on 14 November 1992 aged 78.[11][12]
Awards
In June 1961, Waller was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire whilst Ambassador to the USSR.[13] He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1968 during his time as Ambassador to the United States of America.[14]
A street in the Canberra suburb of Casey was named Keith Waller Rise in 2011, in Waller's honour.[3]
^Sullivan, Rodney (1993). "'It had to happen': the Gamboas and Australian–Philippine interactions". In Reynaldo C. Ileto; Rodney Sullivan (eds.). Discovering Australasia: Essays on Philippine-Australian Interactions. James Cook University. p. 112.
_1960-62_Wallers_inspecting_cattle_in_Siberia.jpg)
