# Geoffrey Reed

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{{For|those of a similar name|Jeff Reed (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix   = [Sir](/source/Sir) 
|name               = Geoffrey Reed
|honorific_suffix   = [KC](/source/King's_Counsel) 
|image              = Geoffrey Sandford Reed.jpeg
|alt                = 
|caption            = 
|order              = 1st
|office             = Director-General of Security
|term_start         = 9 March 1949
|term_end           = 30 June 1950
|prime_minister       = [Ben Chifley](/source/Ben_Chifley) (1949)<br />[Robert Menzies](/source/Robert_Menzies) (1949–1950)
|predecessor        = 
|successor          = [Sir Charles Spry](/source/Charles_Spry)
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|1892|3|14|df=y}}
|birth_place        = [Port Pirie, South Australia](/source/Port_Pirie%2C_South_Australia)
|death_date         = {{Death date and age|1970|12|31|1892|3|14|df=y}}
|death_place        = [North Adelaide](/source/North_Adelaide), [South Australia](/source/South_Australia), Australia
|birth_name           = Geoffrey Sandford Reed
|citizenship        = 
|spouse             = Kathleen Matthews
|relations          = 
|children           = 
|alma_mater         = [University of Adelaide](/source/University_of_Adelaide)
|occupation         = 
|profession         = Barrister, jurist
|signature          = 
<!--Military service-->
|nickname           = 
|allegiance         = Australia
|branch             = [Australian Army](/source/Australian_Army)
|service_years       = 1918–1919
|rank               = 
|unit               = 
|commands           = 
|battles            = 
|awards             = 
}}
'''Sir Geoffrey Sandford Reed''', [KC](/source/King's_Counsel) (14 March 1892 – 31 December 1970) was a justice of the [Supreme Court of South Australia](/source/Supreme_Court_of_South_Australia) and the first [Director-General of Security](/source/Director-General_of_Security) and head of the [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation](/source/Australian_Security_Intelligence_Organisation) (ASIO).

==Early life==
He was born in [Port Pirie](/source/Port_Pirie%2C_South_Australia) on 14 March 1892, the first child of William Reed and his wife Elizabeth, née Lathlean. William Reed was a [Wesleyan](/source/Methodism) clergyman, and Geoffrey was educated at [Prince Alfred College](/source/Prince_Alfred_College), a [Methodist](/source/Methodist_Church_of_Australasia) school. Reed studied law at the [University of Adelaide](/source/University_of_Adelaide) and was admitted as a solicitor and barrister on 25 April 1914. He enlisted in the [Australian Imperial Force](/source/First_Australian_Imperial_Force) on 18 February 1918, and was married later the same year to Kathleen Matthews. He was posted to England and France and served with a supply depot. He was discharged in Adelaide on 21 May 1919.

Through the 1920s and 1930s, Reed became a partner in McLachlan, Reed & Griffiths, was active in the [Law Society of South Australia](/source/Law_Society_of_South_Australia) and lectured in law at the University of Adelaide. He chaired a [Royal Commission](/source/Royal_Commission) on transport in 1937, and in August 1938 was appointed [King's Counsel](/source/King's_Counsel).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130963261 |title=Personal |newspaper=[The News](/source/The_News_(Adelaide)) |volume=XXIX |issue=4,384 |location=South Australia |date=11 August 1937 |accessdate=20 April 2016 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was appointed to the [Supreme Court of South Australia](/source/Supreme_Court_of_South_Australia) in 1943, having acted as judge for a period earlier.

==ASIO==
Reed was involved in security, including chairing the South Australian National Security Advisory Committee from 1941. He undertook a number of inquiries on security issues for the [federal government](/source/Australian_Government). Reed was appointed as Commonwealth Director-General of Security on 2 March 1949. A fortnight later, the [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation](/source/Australian_Security_Intelligence_Organisation) was established. The Australian Government of [Ben Chifley](/source/Ben_Chifley) was pressured by its allies to address security shortcomings at the beginning of the [Cold War](/source/Cold_War).

In late 1943 Judge Reed was commissioned by [Attorney General](/source/Attorney-General_for_Australia) [H.V. Evatt](/source/H.V._Evatt) to conduct an inquiry into the competence of Lt. Colonel Robert ( Bob) Wake who was in charge of the [Commonwealth Security Service](/source/Commonwealth_Security_Service) in Queensland. Serious charges had been made by the Army's Commander-in-chief, General [Thomas Blamey](/source/Thomas_Blamey), that Wake was an incompetent, used "lewd" women as agents and had lost the trust of Australia's American allies. Judge Reed found that all charges were false and when Prime Minister Chifley told him that Wake was the government's preferred choice to run ASIO, Judge Reed was very happy to work with Wake. Wake was the operational head of ASIO from its formation until Reed retired. Wake was responsible for appointing key agents to spy on the Russian Club in Sydney that eventually led to the [Petrov Defection](/source/Petrov_Affair). During the formation of ASIO Wake worked very closely with the MI5 liaison officer, Courtney Young, who took [snuff](/source/Snuff_(tobacco)) and wore [spats](/source/Spats_(footwear)).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wake |first1=Valdemar Robert |title=No Ribbons or Medals: The story of 'Hereward', an Australian counter espionage officer |date=2004 |publisher=Jacobyte Books |location=Mitcham, South Australia, Australia |isbn=1-74100-165-X}}{{isbn|9781741001655}} available from Digital Print, South Australia.</ref>

ASIO was modelled on the British equivalent, [MI5](/source/MI5). Its first authorised telephone interceptions were in June 1949, followed in July by a raid on the [Sydney](/source/Sydney) office of the [Communist Party of Australia](/source/Communist_Party_of_Australia). Reed and ASIO were supported by the new [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Australia), [Robert Menzies](/source/Robert_Menzies) after the [1949 election](/source/1949_Australian_federal_election) and he received warm tributes at the end of his post in July 1950 from both sides of politics.

Reed returned to the Supreme Court of South Australia and was [knighted](/source/Knight_Bachelor) in [1953 Coronation Honours List](/source/1953_Coronation_Honours). He chaired a Royal Commission in electoral boundaries in 1955 and served as acting [Governor of South Australia](/source/Governor_of_South_Australia) twice in 1957. In 1959, he was judge in the controversial trial of [Max Stuart](/source/Max_Stuart), an Aborigine accused of murdering a 9-year-old girl and subsequently also appointed to the Royal Commission into the conviction.

Reed retired from the court in 1962 and retired in [Adelaide](/source/Adelaide) after some travel overseas. He died on 31 December 1970 and was cremated..

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |title=Reed, Sir Geoffrey Sandfors (1892–1970) |author=Rex Stevenson |accessdate=2006-06-23 |id=A160076b }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/other_defence_matters/security_buttons/reed.html |accessdate=2006-06-23 |title=Geoffrey S Reed |publisher=National Archives of Australia |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226130947/http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/other_defence_matters/security_buttons/reed.html |archivedate=26 December 2005 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
|-
{{s-non|reason=New position}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Director-General of Security](/source/Director-General_of_Security)|years=1949–1950}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sir Charles Spry](/source/Charles_Spry)}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Geoffrey}}
Category:1892 births
Category:1970 deaths
Category:Directors-general of security
Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia
Category:Australian Knights Bachelor
Category:People educated at Prince Alfred College
Category:People from Port Pirie
Category:Academic staff of the University of Adelaide
Category:Adelaide Law School alumni
Category:Australian King's Counsel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Geoffrey Reed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Reed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Reed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.