“They have got spies all over; every place,” a witness from the automobile industry told a U.S. Senate committee in 1936. Another reported that mining country was “honeycombed with spies.” Struggling to decipher the operatives’ terms of art, senators were presented with a helpful glossary:

"The red-and-blue Ampol branding defined Australia of the post-war period. Following the example of Hill & Knowlton’s U.S. clients, the company gave its name and logo to sports tournaments, artist’s vehicles, radio programs, race car drivers, and symphony orchestras."

/4 One idea he encouraged was to present Queen Elizabeth II with Australia's first oil samples as a goodwill publicity stunt.

/3 Enter US-PR-guru, Richard Darrow. Dispatched by NY firm Hill&Knowlton to stave off a PR crisis for clients Std Oil of California and Texaco, Darrow brought with him PR tactics H&K had honed through years of working with the US's most powerful industries including steel, oil and tobacco.

/2 Things started badly. On striking Australia's first oil in 1953, Standard Oil of California failed to tell their Australian partner William Walkley about the discovery. Walkley, who would later become Australia's answer to John D. Rockefeller, was furious.