History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/Richard Edmund Butler/Notes

Non-chronological material
BIOGRAPHY <!-- USE AS BACKGROUND FOR IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH ARTICLES THEN DELETE UNLESS BECOMES PUBLIC DOMAIN - SSD '''RICHARD EDMUND BUTLER, AM. CIVIL SERVANT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS PIONEER. 25-3-1926 - 23-6-2012''' DICK Butler, former secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), who helped shape the modern telecommunications industry, has died in St Vincent's Private Hospital in Melbourne following pulmonary complications after an operation. He was aged 86.

From 1968 to 1989, he was the highest ranking Australian in the United Nations hierarchy and the first and only Australian to be elected as head of a specialised agency in 1982. As the UN's regulator of the global airwaves, based in Geneva, he pushed for the introduction of accessible, reliable and compatible telephone, telegraphy and data transfer services in Third World countries. Dick's life and work effectively touched millions. He was a champion for and ensured fairness and equity for developing nations. He believed radio and telephones were as essential to Third World countries as food, medicine and clean water, as it enabled their populations to "get educated". His mantra was that personal development opportunities through education and communication should not be limited by accidents of birth, location or origin.

His career spanned a time of explosion in telecommunications. He witnessed the transition from telegraph to telex to facsimile to internet, and was a key player in the evolution from analog to digital and wireless technology. He was acknowledged as an initiator and consensus builder from the early 1970s. He played a major role in bringing the global computer and telecommunications communities together, as he did with the convergence of the information industry and broadcasting community.

Dick's leadership on these issues and significant contribution to telecommunications led to his appointment as a member of the Order of Australia. Other awards included the Spanish Grand Insignia of the Order of Merit for telecommunications, the Philipp Reis Medal in Germany, and honorary membership of the Greek Society of Air and Space Law.

In 1988, he was voted the world's most influential telecommunications leader. After he retired from the ITU and returned to Australia in 1989, it was reported that he could have chosen any job in the world. But he deferred, saying "I was a career civil servant and my career has been etched by government service".

Dick remained heavily involved in international telecommunications in his later years, and was an eminent adviser to governments, international agencies and corporations. He had a particular interest in using low earth orbiting satellites and high altitude platforms, together with low cost receivers, as aids for education, health, capacity and community building in underdeveloped and remote communities, as well as early warning and response systems for threats such as tsunamis and the Ebola virus.

Dick was chairman of AsiaSpace, a subsidiary of WorldSpace, focused on delivering digital radio from satellites to developing nations and remote areas. He also chaired Sky Station Australia, a company affiliated with Sky Station International that plans to provide broadband communications from a network of tethered airships.

Dick was widely respected for his humility, integrity, diplomacy, and deep understanding of the issues he had to deal with. His dream was to bring affordable communication systems into the rural Third World and he dedicated his professional life to that goal. He was a mentor to many who shared these aspirations.

His endurance and adaptability was remarkable, succeeding as a non-technocrat in an engineering industry, and at age 86 he was not only abreast of but leading debate in one of the fastest changing sectors in the world.

Dick was born in Black Rock, Melbourne, the second of five children to Florence and Claude Butler, who ran a suburban dairy, distributing milk to new housing estates.

He completed his leaving certificate at the newly opened St Bernard's College in Essendon before joining the Australian army as an 18-year-old, stationed at Cowra in New South Wales at the time of the Japanese prisoner of war breakout from an internment camp in 1944. His involvement in the aftermath of this tragedy influenced him greatly.

His civil service career began simply enough in 1941, as a telegram delivery boy for the Post-Master General's department. After the war, he returned to the PMG and completed an accounting diploma, studying at night at Melbourne Technical College, now RMIT. He progressed through the ranks of the PMG to chief industrial officer, executive officer and then first assistant deputy director-general by 1968. During this tenure he was involved in industrial relations, policy development and management, including the visit in 1966 by Lyndon Johnson, the first serving United States president to visit Australia.

Away from work, Butler raised five children with his wife Pat (nee Kelly), initially in Melbourne, then spanning two continents, with the children returning in succession from Geneva to Melbourne to attend university.

After he returned to Australia, he and Pat lived comfortably and quietly supporting their growing family of grandchildren. His faith was important to him and he found much comfort and strength as part of the community of Sacred Heart Church in Kew. He was fortunate enough to attend a papal Mass for UN officials in the Sistine Chapel during the 1980s and an earlier outdoor papal Mass in Geneva.

Dick was a reserved man, yet he was popular with many people in the area where he lived when he stopped for a chat. He had an abiding interest in others and an amazing capacity to recall and recognise people and the important moments in their lives.

He was humble to a fault and had no great interest in material possessions. This was illustrated by his ownership of only three cars: a Vauxhall Velox in Australia pre-1968; an Opel Rekord station wagon in Geneva; and one of his few self-indulgences, a Mercedes-Benz that is still going strong 25 years later.

He had a deep interest in cricket and loved supporting the Essendon Football Club. He also had an insatiable thirst for current affairs and politics, scouring the daily newspapers and broadcasting the radio and Sky TV news throughout the house at high volume.

Dick remained busy as ever to the end. He had recently made several trips to Korea and Geneva, and believed there was so much more for him to accomplish.

He retained his accreditation as a CPA for nearly 60 years, and was still completing online professional development activities.

Pat predeceased him 13 months ago after 60 years of marriage, and he is survived by his sons Brendan, Gerard and Paul, daughters Jennifer and Helen, 12 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his brother, Kevin (Joe).

Gerard Butler is Dick's son; Mark Hoven is his son-in-law. -->

1940 12
Butler passes PMGD examination for appointment as Telegraph Messenger with an unexceptional 241st place within Melbourne and suburbs '''Examination No. 2311. For Appointment as Telegraph Messenger.''' Held 16th November, 1940. THE candidates named hereunder were successful at the above examination. The eligibility of the successful candidates for appointment will cease on 18th December, 1941. If a successful candidate changes his address he should immediately notify the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Melbourne or Adelaide. VICTORIA. Melbourne and Suburbs.
 * Order of Merit. Name. Total Marks.
 * 1  Cotter, John James   382 . ..
 * 241  Butler, Richard Edmund   315

1941 08
Barton is appointed to the PMGD as Telegraph Messenger following on from passing the entry examination "APPOINTMENTS, RETIREMENTS AND DISMISSALS. THE following appointments, retirements and dismissals are notified by the Public Service Board:— . . . APPOINTMENTS. . . Postmaster-General's Department. . . . Victoria. Telegraph Messenger, Fourth Division.— Morris Matthews, Vernon James Shaw, Terence Michael O'Brien, Henry Leslie Storey, Barry Glen Thomas, Stanley Gordon Silva, David Samuel Payne Davies, Geoffrey James Craig, Brian Daniel McCarthy, Robert George Baker, Geoffrey Mordaunt Dew, Richard Edmund Butler, Frank Biggs, Ernest William Twomey, Maurice Joseph Crotty, Ronald Charles Mclntyre, Vernon Dalton, John William Day, Thomas Francis McGrath, Edmund Leo Broadbent, Norman Henry Dunstan, Neil Stanley Grimwood, Alexander Donald McDonnell, John Aloysius McMahon."

1941 12
Butler passes the entry examination for appointment as PMGD Junior Mechanic, with an unexceptional 437 marks '''EXAMINATIONS. Examination No. 2351.''' For Appointment or Transfer as Junior Mechanic, all States. Held 27th September, 1941. THE candidates named hereunder were successful at the examination. The eligibility of the successful candidates for appointment will cease on 17th December, 1942. (2) Should a successful candidate change his address, he should immediately inform the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector of his State of his new address.
 * VICTORIA. Officers of the Service.
 * Order of Merit. Name. Total Marks.
 * 1  Carboon, Glen Francis   531   . ..
 * 8  Butler, Richard Edmund   437

1943 01
Butler passes examination for transfer as Clerk, Third Division with respectable 4th place in Victoria '''Examination No. 2412. For Transfer as Clerk, Third Division, Canberra, and all States.''' Held 7th November, 1942, and subsequent dates. THE following are the names of the candidates, in their order of merit, who were successful. 2. Except as provided in Regulation 177, the eligibility of successful candidates for transfer will expire on 27th January, 1944.
 * Victoria.
 * Order of Merit. Name. Total Marks.
 * 1  Brown, Gordon Allan   1303
 * 4  Butler, Richard Edmund   1201

1946 07
Butler provisionally promoted as Leave Clerk, Staff Section, Central Office, Department of Labour and National Service '''COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE. PROMOTIONS — SECTION 50 AND REGULATION 109.''' THE following promotions are provisional and subject to appeal by officers to the Public Service Board, and, where consequent upon another provisional promotion, shall be dependent upon the latter being confirmed. Appeals should be lodged, either by letter or telegram, within twenty-one days of the date of this notification, as follows:— (a) if the promotion is to be made in a State, with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector in the capital city of that State; (b) if the promotion is to be made in the Australian Capital Territory, with the Public Service Inspector in Canberra, unless the promotion is to be made to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department, in which case the officer shall lodge his appeal with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Sydney; (c) if the promotion is to be made in the Northern Territory — (i) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Brisbane, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Department of Trade and Customs; (ii) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Adelaide, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department; (iii) with the Public Service Inspector, Canberra, in other cases. An appellant shall forward his appeal direct to the Public Service Inspector, and the following particulars in respect of his permanent position should be set out at the foot of the appeal:— Full name (block letters). Age (in years). Designation. Standard salary scale. Office or Branch Department. Under Section 50(7a) of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, the Board may regard an appeal as having been made against a provisional promotion notified hereunder by any officer who, at any time within the time prescribed for lodging an appeal, is absent on leave for war service, or is absent from Australia on official duty. Where an officer desires to appeal against two or more provisional promotions a separate appeal should be lodged in respect of each. The grounds of appeal must be as prescribed in Section 50 of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, viz.:— (1) Where a promotion is to be made to a position prescribed in Regulation 109g, viz.:— Assistant Grade 1 — female; Assistant, Grade 2 — male or female; Labourer; Lift Attendant; Lineman, Grade 2; Line Foreman, Grade 1; Mail Officer; Postal Assistant, Grade 1; Postal Assistant (Mail); Postal Clerk (Fourth Division); Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1; Assistant Storeman; Storeman, Grade 1; Storeman, Grade 2; Telegraphist (Fourth Division); Quarantine Assistant, Grade 1; Searcher and Watchman — that the appellant is senior to the officer provisionally promoted and is efficient. (2) In other cases — (a) Superior efficiency; or (b) Equal efficiency combined with seniority. (N.B.— Where positions have been the subject of an Arbitration Determination, the salary scales shown are those prescribed by Determinations.). . ..
 * Department of Labour and National Service — continued. Administrative Branch, Secretarial. Victoria — continued.
 * Name. Present Designation and Station. Position to which Promoted. Salary on Promotion. £. Date of Promotion.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund,
 * Clerk (£96-£318), Third Division, unattached, Department of Labour and National Service, Victoria;
 * Clerk (£300-£366), Third Division, Staff Section, Central Office. New office created (P.S.B. Certificate No. 46/564)
 * £340, 18.7.48
 * Duties.— Leave Clerk.

1947 03
Butler fails to secure his provisional promotion of 18 July 1946 (9 months earlier) "PROMOTIONS — COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 1922-1946. THE Public Service Board has — . . . (2) Cancelled the undermentioned provisional promotions as notified in the Gazelles indicated:— Charles Arthur Allen, 23rd January, 1947; Rov Edward Bullock, 30th May, 1946; Jack Sydney Brigden, Victor Kenneth Peak, Richard Edmund Butler, Colin William Conron, Raymond Joseph Donnellan. 18th July, 1946; Donald William Anderson Aistrope, 25th July, 1946; Eric Charles Fry, 1st August, 1946; Austin Philip Carey, 3rd October, 1946; Alvia May Warnick, 10th October, 1946; Clarence James Hewett, 14th November, 1946."

1947 04
Butler again provisionally promoted as Officer-in-Charge, Leave Sub-section, Central Office, Department of Labour and National Service '''COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE. PROMOTIONS-SECTION 50 AND REGULATION 109.''' THE following promotions are provisional and subject to appeal by officers to the Public Service Board, and, where consequent upon another provisional promotion, shall be dependent upon the latter being confirmed. Appeals should be lodged, either by letter or telegram, within twenty-one days of the date of this notification, as follows:— (a) if the promotion is to be made in a State, with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector in the capital city of that State; (b) if the promotion is to be made in the Australian Capital Territory, with the Public Service Inspector in Canberra, unless the promotion is to be made to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department, in which case the officer shall lodge his appeal with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Sydney; (c) if the promotion is to be made in the Northern Territory — (i) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Brisbane, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Department of Trade and Customs; (ii) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Adelaide, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department; (iii) with the Public Service Inspector, Canberra, in other cases. An appellant shall forward his appeal direct to the Public Service Inspector, and the following particulars in respect of his permanent position should be set out at the foot of the appeal:— Full name (block letters). Age (in years). Designation. Standard salary scale. Office or Branch. Department. Under Section 50(7a) of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, the Board may regard an appeal as having been made against a provisional promotion notified hereunder by any officer who, at any time within the time prescribed for lodging an appeal, is absent on leave for war service, or is absent from Australia on official duty. Where an officer desires to appeal against two or more provisional promotions a separate appeal should be lodged in respect of each. The grounds of appeal must be as prescribed in Section 50 of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, viz.:— (1) Where a promotion is to be made to a position prescribed in Regulation 109g, viz.:— Assistant Grade 1 — female; Assistant, Grade 2 — male or female; Labourer; Lift Attendant; Lineman, Grade 2; Line Foreman, Grade 1; Mail Officer; Postal Assistant, Grade 1; Postal Assistant (Mail); Postal Clerk (Fourth Division); Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1; Assistant Storeman; Storeman, Grade 1; Storeman, Grade 2; Telegraphist (Fourth Division); Quarantine Assistant, Grade 1; Searcher and Watchman — that the appellant is senior to the officer provisionally promoted and is efficient. (2) In other cases — (a) Superior efficiency; or (b) Equal efficiency combined with seniority. (N.B.— Where positions have been the subject of an Arbitration Determination, the salary scales shown are those prescribed by Determinations.)
 * DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR. AND NATIONAL SERVICE.
 * Name. Present Designation and Station. Position to which Promoted. Salary on Promotion. £. Date of Promotion.
 * Administrative, Branch, Secretariat, Victoria.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund
 * Clerk (£108-£360), Unattached, Third Division, Department of Labour and National Service, Central Staff
 * Clerk (£312-£366), Third Division, Staff Section, Central Office, Melbourne, vice R. E. Ervin, promoted
 * £370 17.4.47
 * Duties.— Officer-in-Charge Leave Sub-Section.

1948 01
Butler included in the list of federal public servants as at 30 June 1946 INDEX TO LIST OF PERMANENT OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE ON 30th JUNE, 1946.
 * Name. Page. No. on Page.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund 443 13

1949 06
Butler transfers at level within his Branch at Department of Labour and National Service. TRANSFER TO ADVERTISED VACANCIES.
 * Name of Transferee. Designation and location of former position. Position to which transferred. Gazette No. and date of notification of vacancy.
 * Department of Labour and National Service.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund
 * Clerk (£312-£396), Third Division, Staff Section, Administrative Bianch, Secretariat, Central Office
 * Clerk (£312-£396), Third Division, Staff Section, Administrative Branch, Secretariat, Central Office
 * Gazette No. 6 of 20th January, 1949

1949 10
Butler further promoted as Leave and temporary employment Clerk, Postmaster-General's Department '''COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE. PROMOTIONS-SECTION 50 AND REGULATION 109.''' THE following promotions are provisional and subject to appeal by officers to the Public Service Board, and, where, consequent upon another provisional promotion, shall be dependent upon the latter being confirmed. Appeals should be lodged, either by letter or telegram, within twenty-one days of the date of this notification, as follows:— (a) if the promotion is to be made in a State, with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector in the capital city of that State; (b) if the promotion is to be made in the Australian Capital Territory, with the Public Service Inspector in Canberra, unless the promotion is to be made to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department, in which case the officer shall lodge his appeal with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Sydney; (c) if the promotion is to be made in the Northern Territory — (i) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Brisbane, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Department of Trade and Customs; (ii) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Adelaide, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department; (iii) with the Public Service Inspector, Canberra, in other cases. An appellant shall forward his appeal direct to the Public Service Inspector, and the following particulars in respect of his permanent position should be set out at the foot of the appeal:— Full name (blook letters). Age (in years). Designation. Standard Salary scale. Office or Branch. Department. Appeals not lodged with the appropriate Commonwealth Public Service Inspector within the prescribed period will not be accepted. Under Section 50(7a) of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, the Board may regard an appeal as having been made against a provisional promotion notified hereunder by any officer who, at any time within the time prescribed for lodging an appeal, is absent on leave for war service, or is absent from Australia on official duty. Where an officer desires to appeal against two or more provisional promotions a separate appeal should be lodged in respect of each. The grounds of appeal must be as prescribed in Section 50 of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, viz.:— (1) Where a promotion is to be made to a position prescribed in Regulation 109g, viz.:— Assistant, Grade 1 — female; Assistant, Grade 2 — male or female; Labourer; Lift Attendant; Lineman, Grade 2; Line Foreman, Grade 1; Mail Officer; Postal Assistant, Grade 1; Postal Assistant (Mail); Postal Clerk (Fourth Division); Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1; Assistant Storeman; Storeman, Grade 1; Storeman, Grade 2; Telegraphist (Fourth Division); Quarantine Assistant, Grade 1; Searcher and Watchman — that the appellant is senior to the officer provisionally promoted and is efficient. (2) In other cases — (а) Superior efficiency; or (b) Equal efficiency combined with seniority. (N.B.— Where positions have been the subject of an Arbitration Determination, the salary scales shown are those prescribed by Determinations.)
 * POSTMASTER-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. Central Staff, Victoria.
 * Name. Present Designation and Station. Position to which Promoted. Salary on Promotion. £. Date of Promotion.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund,
 * Clerk (£312-£396), Third Division, Department of Labour and National Service, Central Staff
 * Clerk (£378-£468), Third Division, Personnel Branch, General Staff and Administration Section, Melbourne. New office created (P.S.B. Certificate No. 49/2159)
 * £502 27.10.49
 * Duties.— Leave and temporary employment Clerk. Good knowledge of relevant Public Service Regulations, Instructions and procedures desirable.

1950 01
Butler's promotion within the PMGD is confirmed "PROMOTIONS — COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 1922-1948. THE Public Service Board has — (1) Confirmed the undermentioned provisional promotions as notified in Gazettes indicated:— Charles Kennedy Comans, Robert Burns Hutchison, 9th June, 1949; Kenneth Noel Willis, 14th July, 1949; John Edward Devery, Thomas Patrick Giddens, Frederick Vivian Jones, George John Elliott Lucas, Dennis Sullivan, Gordon James Wilton, Austin Herbert Lander, Percival Alexander Sharpley, Michael O'Brien, Reginald Marshall, Harry Norman Podger, James Lawrence Bush, Herbert Virgil Mouchemore, James Edward Ebenezer Wall, Eugene Gawne, Thomas Wattz, Alexander Herbert Hammerberg, Thomas Edwin Taylor, Thomas Henry Maguire, Alexander McIntosh, Ernest Alexander, George Gallian Nelson, Paul Reginald Johannesen, Charles Claude Dearling, Edward Mervin Sawyers, 11th August, 1949; Keith Allan Dunstan, Robert Holman Andrews, 25th August, 1949; Albert Henry Kaye, 1st September, 1949; Cyril Smith, 15th September, 1949; Keith Chandler, Wilfred Stocker Mattick, Reginald William Walker, Harold Leslie Cook, William Alfrey Parks, Hector Leslie Le Plastrier, 29th September, 1949; Charles James Dunlop, William Francis Rowan, 6th October, 1949; John Robert Martin Gill, John Walter Birkett, Irene Jessie Ruffels, Thomas Joseph Brady, 13th October, 1949; Patrick James Sullivan, Gordon Grant Herron, Robert William Moore, James Raymond Griffiths, Leith Rosslyn More, Graeme John Lindenmayer, Harry Geoff Nowotney, Victor Thomas Jobst, 20th October, 1949; Donald Newell Fairbrother, Richard Henry Clare Cardaw, Walter John Buller Nelsen, Richard Edmund Butler, Richard Davies, Charles Alexander James McRae, 27th October, 1949; Henry William Moller, Wilfred Michael White, 10th November, 1949;"

1950 10
'''COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE. PROMOTIONS — SECTION 50 AND REGULATION 109.''' THE following promotions are provisional and subject to appeal by officers to the Public Service Board, and, where consequent upon another provisional promotion, shall be dependent upon the latter being confirmed. Appeals should be lodged, either by letter or telegram, within twenty one days of the date of this notification, as fallows:— (a) if the promotion is to be made in a State, with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector in the capital city of that State; (b) if the promotion is to be made in the Australian Capital Territory, with the Public Service Inspector in Canberra, unless the promotion is to be made to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department, in which case the officer shall lodge his appeal with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Sydney; (c) if the promotion is to be made in the Northern Territory — (i) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Brisbane, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Department of Trade and Customs; (ii) with the Commonwealth Public Service Inspector, Adelaide, in the case of a promotion to a vacancy in the Postmaster-General's Department; (iii) with the Public Service Inspector, Canberra, in other cases. An appellant shall forward his appeal direct to the Public Service Inspector, and the following particulars in respect of his permanent position should be set out at the foot of the appeal:— Full name (block letters). Age (in years). Designation. Standard salary scale. Office or Branch. Department. Appeals not lodged with the appropriate Commonwealth Public Service Inspector within the prescribed period will not be accepted. Under Section 50(7a) of the Commonwealth Public Service Act, the Board may regard an appeal as having been made against a provisional promotion notified hereunder by any officer who at any time within the time prescribed for lodging an appeal is absent on leave for war service, or is absent from Australia on official duty. Where an officer desires to appeal against two or more provisional promotions a separate appeal should be lodged in respect of each. The grounds of appeal must be as prescribed in Section 50 of the Commonwealth Public Service Act viz.:— (1) Where a promotion is to be made to a position prescribed in Regulation 109g, viz.:— Assistant, Grade 1 — female; Assistant Grade 2 — male or female; Labourer; Lift Attendant; Lineman, Grade 2; Line Foreman Grade 1; Mail Officer; Postal Officer; Postal Assistant (Mail); Postal Clerk (Fourth Division); Senior Postal Clerk, Grade 1; Assistant Storeman; Storeman; Storeman, Grade 1; Storeman, Grade 2; Telegraphist (Fourth Division); Quarantine Assistant, Grade 1; Searcher and Watchman — that the appellant is senior to the officer provisionally promoted and is efficient. (2) In other cases — (a) Superior efficiency; or (b) Equal efficiency combined with seniority. * Cost of living adjustments payable pursuant to Regulation 106a — (a) Adult male officers, married minors (male) in receipt of allowance under Regulation 87b, and minors (male) occupying positions for which no minor rates are prescribed — £136 per annum; (b) Adult female officers, officers 19 and 20 years of age and minors (female) occupying positions for which no minor rates are prescribed — £91 per annum; (c) Minors (female) and unmarried mmors (male) under 19 years of age — £68 per annum. (N.B.— Where positions have been the subject of an Arbitration Determination, the salary scales shown are those prescribed by Determinations.)
 * POSTMASTER-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. Central Staff.
 * Name. Present Designation and Station. Position to which Promoted. Salary on Promotion. (*Exclusive of Cost of Living Adjustment). £. Date of Promotion.
 * Butler, Richard Edmund
 * Clerk (£381-£471), Third Division, Personnel Branch
 * Clerk (£426-£516), Third Division, Personnel Branch, Industrial Section, Melbourne, vice E. E. White, transferred
 * £426 5.10.50
 * Duties.— The treatment of matters arising under Commonwealth Employees' Compensation Act 1930-1948, and the Public Service Arbitrator's Determination (Common Rule re Accidents), &c.

1954 03
Butler appointed as Commissioner for Declarations "Statutory Declarations Act 1911-1950. IT is hereby notified for public information that — (a) the persons mentioned in the First Schedule hereunder have this day been appointed by me to be Commissioners for Declarations under the Statutory Declarations Act 1911-1950; and (b) the appointments of the persons mentioned in the Second Schedule hereunder as Commissioners for Declarations under the said Act have this day been determined by me, the said persons having ceased to hold the positions held by them at the time of their respective appointments or their appointments as Commissioners being unnecessary in connexion with the duties of the positions now held by them, as the case may be. First Schedule. . . . (ix) The following officers of the Postmaster-General's Department:— William Patrick Joseph Fogarty, Esqire, of Ballarat, in the State of Victoria, Divisional Engineer. Peter Stanley Neville, Esquire, of Geelong, in the State of Victoria, Divisional Engineer. Harold William Cosgrove Dingle, Esquire, of Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Clerk, Personnel Branch. Richard Edmund Butler, Esquire, of Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Clerk, personnel Branch. William Oscar Cooper Deane, Esquire, of Sydney, in the State of New South Wales, Welfare Officer, Personnel Branch. William Charles Kemp, Esquire of Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Assistant Superintendent, Buildings Branch. Keith Barling, Esquire, of Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Clerk, Buildings Branch."

1984 03
Butler awarded Member Honoris Causa in Perpetuum of the Greek Society of Air and Space Law "TIRELESS WORK RECOGNISED. GOOD-ON-YOU award goes to Mr Richard E. Butler, secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union and the first Australian to head a United Nations specialised agency. In recognition of tireless work in the job 'for the continuous improvement and rational use of telecommunications' and for 'the social and economic development' of the people of the world, he has been nominated 'as Member Honoris Causa in Perpetuum of the Greek Society of Air and Space Law'. Mr Butler, deputy secretary general since being nominated by Australia, and elected, in 1968, and elected secretary-general in Nairobi in October 1982 is on secondment from Telecom."

1988 06
Butler is appointed Member of the Order of Australia "Government House, Canberra ACT 2600, 13 June 1988. THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY 1988 HONOURS. ON behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, His Excellency the Governor-General is pleased to announce the following appointments and awards: THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA. . . . To be Members in the General Division (AM) . . . Richard Edmund BUTLER, 222B route d'Hermance, 1246 Corsier, Geneva Switzerland, For service to the development of international telecommunications."