Pike Curtin

Pearce William Edward "Pike" Curtin (27 September 1907 – 17 May 1997) was an Australian public servant and economist who played a key role in the establishment of a banking system in Papua New Guinea. He was a talented sportsman in his youth, playing first-class cricket for Western Australia.

Pike Curtin
Personal information
Full namePearce William Edward Curtin
Born(1907-09-27)27 September 1907
Boulder, Western Australia
Died17 May 1997(1997-05-17) (aged 89)
Canberra, Australia
NicknamePike
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1931/32Western Australia
Source: CricketArchive, 2 December 2012

Early life and sporting career

Born in Boulder, Western Australia, Curtin attended the University of Western Australia, where he captained the university's team in the WACA grade cricket competition, as well as in inter-university matches.[1] During the 1931–32 and 1932–33 seasons, he played three first-class matches for Western Australia against touring international teams.[2] In the first two of these matches, against South Africa at the beginning and end of their 1931–32 tour of Australia, Curtin played as a top order batsman, and scored 35 runs in his debut innings.[3][4] In his third and final first-class match, against the Marylebone Cricket Club on their 1932–33 tour, he was promoted to open the batting, and was bowled by Harold Larwood for a six-ball duck in Western Australia's only innings.[5]

Professional career

Curtin completed Master of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in Western Australia, and was president of the UWA Student Guild in 1937.[6] He went on to obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy from the London School of Economics.[7] From 1942 to 1946, Curtin was an assistant director at the newly established Department of Post-War Reconstruction, and he later served as director of the Colombo Plan bureau in Sri Lanka and as chairman of the Commonwealth Public Service Board. Working in the research department of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, he was appointed to the position of senior research economist (international affairs) in November 1958, having served under H. C. "Nugget" Coombs, the bank's governor, during the war. Curtin went on to play a key role in the Reserve Bank's establishment of a banking system in Papua New Guinea.[8] Described as an "unorthodox economist of Fabian persuasion", he died in Canberra in May 1997.[9]

References
  1. "W.A. UNIVERSITY SAVES FOLLOW-ON" – The Advertiser. Published 28 January 1932.
  2. First-Class Matches played by Percy Curtin (3) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. Western Australia v South Africans, South Africa in Australia and New Zealand 1931/32 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  4. Western Australia v South Africans, South Africa in Australia and New Zealand 1931/32 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. Western Australia v Marylebone Cricket Club, Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia and New Zealand 1932/33 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  6. Past Guild Presidents – UWA Student Guild. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  7. Moore, Gregory (2008). The Campaign to Arrest Ed Shann's Influence in Western Australia. University of Notre Dame Australia. p. 38.
  8. Chapter 17: The Reserve Bank in Papua New Guinea – Nugget, Pike, et al.: The Role of the Reserve Bank of Australia in Papua New Guinea's Decolonisation. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  9. Percy Curtin – CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
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