Peter Heydon was born in Croydon, Sydney, on 9 September 1913. He was educated at
Fort Street Boys' High School, and in 1936 joined the
Commonwealth Public Service in the
Department of External Affairs, soon after having been admitted to the NSW bar. In 1942, Heydon married Muriel Naomi Slater, a Canadian who had been his personal assistant during his appointment to the staff of
Richard Casey in Washington. From 1943 to 1944, Heydon served with the Australian legation to the Soviet Union which had just opened at the wartime capital of
Kuibyshev. He was soon after appointed
Minister to Brazil, serving until 1953. Between 1953 and 1955, Heydon was
High Commissioner to New Zealand. He was subsequently appointed
High Commissioner to India, serving in that position until 1958. From 1961 until his death in 1971, Heydon was Secretary of the Department of Immigration. He died of a heart attack on 15 May 1971, He was survived by his wife, Lady Heydon, and three children – two daughters and a son,
John Dyson Heydon, who was later made a judge of the
High Court of Australia. ==Awards==