Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Pauline RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (13:14): It is with great sadness I rise to condole Roderic Grigson, a great man who made Cranbourne even better, especially through his beloved Scribe Tribe. Rod was an international civil servant, a prolific writer, an author of several books and my neighbour. But most importantly of all, Rod was loved by his wife Mena and their son Eric, and he loved them back.

Roderic Grigson passed away in early September. He was born and educated in Sri Lanka. He lived there until he was 21, before launching a career in the United Nations.

He left the country of his birth with a few dollars in his pocket and entered the United States on a tourist visa. He found work at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where he was employed for 12 years. After studying IT at NYU he volunteered and joined the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Egypt and Lebanon. He served on the Suez Canal during the signing of the Israel–Egypt peace accord and in South Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. After spending two years in the field, Rod returned to New York in 1980 and joined the UN technological innovations team. He spent six years helping develop and implement systems in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese in UN global and regional offices around the world. He migrated with his wife Mena to Australia in 1986, where over time he became a senior executive. He was responsible for overseeing a vast territory, and this was incredibly important to him. Most importantly, though, he was an author. He wrote several books, including The Governor’s Lover. Vale, Roderic Grigson.