Currie married Geraldine Evelyn Dexter in Tokyo in 1951 during his first posting there.[1][3] Their engagement had been announced in March 1951.[4] Three of the couple's four children were born in Tokyo.[5]
In 1982 then Foreign Minister Tony Street appointed Currie the Australian Ambassador to Japan.[9][5] His posting, until 1986, was at a time when Japan was Australia's biggest trading partner.[10]
Currie died in Batemans Bay on 30 July 1999, aged 72.[1] His wife, Geraldine, died on 2 May 2019 at the age of 92.[11]
Awards and honours
Currie was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978.[12] In 1982 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor.[13]
In 2000, the Australia Japan Foundation established the Sir Neil Currie Australian Studies Award Program to commemorate Currie's life and his contribution to Australian-Japanese relations.[14]
A street in the Canberra suburb of Casey in 2009 was named Neil Currie Street in Currie's honour.[15]
^Neil Currie Street, ACT Government Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, archived from the original on 27 February 2014
Further reading
Mitcham, Chad J., 'Currie, Sir Neil Smith (1926–1999)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/currie-sir-neil-smith-280, published online 2023.
