Rohan Deakin Rivett (16 January 1917 – 5 October 1977) was an Australian journalist and author, and influential editor of the Adelaide newspaper The News from 1951 to 1960.
In December 1941, he volunteered to work for the Malayan Broadcasting Commission (or Corporation), which had been set up in Singapore to counter Japanese propaganda,[3] and was discharged from the AIF.
[6] In October and November 1945 he "vividly" described his experiences in Behind Bamboo – the book was first published in Sydney in 1946, and was subsequently reprinted eight times, selling more than 100,000 copies.
Max Stuart, an Aboriginal Australian, was convicted of the rape and murder of a child at Ceduna, South Australia, and sentenced to death.
The News was critical of the handling of the case, arguing that Stuart was not getting a fair trial, and urged the Playford government to set up a Royal Commission.
On 3 December 1959, the Commission found the case against Stuart wholly justified and, seven weeks later, The News and Rivett were tried on nine charges, including seditious libel.
In 1960, Sir Keith Murdoch's son, Rupert, sacked Rivett on generous terms, because he considered the editor to be unreliable and uncontrollable.
[1] Rivett soon found employment at the International Press Institute in Zurich but returned to Melbourne in 1963, where he worked as a freelance journalist, featuring in The Canberra Times and Nation Review.