Thomas Cedric Larkin ONZM: 17 November 1917-17 August 2021.

• Author: McGibbon, Ian

The passing of centenarian Tom Larkin in August cut a link to the early New Zealand diplomatic service. Recruited to the Department of External Affairs less than three years after its establishment, he was one of the small coterie who were present at the creation.

Born in Wellington, the son of railways employee H.J Larkin and his former schoolteacher wife Irene (nee O'Connor), Tom spent his early life in a variety of places, including Otaki, Auckland and from 1929 New Plymouth after his father became stationmaster there. He attended Central School that year, and won a junior national scholarship before going on to New Plymouth Boys High School, where he was dux in 1934. With the help of a Taranaki Scholarship, he attended Victoria University College from 1936, graduating three years later with a BA and in 1940 with an MA (Hons) with second class honours in English. He shared the Tinline Scholarship in 1939 and was one of VUC's nominations for a Rhodes Scholarship that year.

Tom excelled as a sportsman, both at rugby and cricket, representing Taranaki in the latter code from 1934 to 1939. After the war he would play senior cricket in Wellington for a decade as a member of the university's highly successful club side; the double century he scored in 1947 remains the highest by a club member in senior cricket.

In 1940 Tom was an assistant lecturer at Victoria College, residing in Weir House and studying Greek history. While or after undergoing compulsory military training for the Territorial Force in the summer of 1940-41, he volunteered for naval service. Following officer training in South Africa, he served as an RNZNVR officer on loan to the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and from May 1944 commanded a harbour defence motor launch, 1158, at Alexandria.

Demobilised in Wellington in July 1945, Tom joined the Department of External Affairs in the following January. He had been a contemporary of Frank Corner at university-they were in the same English I class in 1936--and in Weir House. Within a month Foss Shanahan was assuring secretary Alister McIntosh that he was a 'very useful acquisition' and 'very helpful'. In 1947, as a third secretary, he was desk officer for Europe, Africa and the Middle East and went to London with the prime minister's entourage for the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Meetings late the following year. He attended both parts of the UN General Assembly's Third Session in 1948-49 as an adviser. Promoted to second...