Background
He was born at East Sydney and was educated at Fort Street Boys" High School and the University of Sydney, graduating Bachelor in 1931.
He was born at East Sydney and was educated at Fort Street Boys" High School and the University of Sydney, graduating Bachelor in 1931.
He studied philosophy under the realist Professor John Anderson.
A controversial figure, he influenced events throughout the Pacific region in the second half of the 20th century, through the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA), which grew out of the directorate. Conlon"s parents were Arthur George Conlon, tram conductor, and Esther Mary, née Hayes. The following year he returned to his medical studies and represented undergraduates on the university"s senate in 1939-1943.
He also served as a (military recruitment) manpower and education officer in 1940-1941.
He had previously been chairman of the Prime Minister’s Committee on National Morale. Described as "a clever man and a brilliant talker", "Svengali-like" and notorious, Conlon created the mysterious DORCA in part as a haven for artists and intellectuals to avoid repeating the slaughter of the best minds of a generation that had impoverished Australian culture in the First World War.
He cultivated many contacts including Prime Minister John Curtin and General Thomas Blamey. In 1944, with Roy Wright, General Blamey and Howard Florey, Conlon developed the proposal for founding the John Curtin School of Medical Research.
Conlon became principal of ASOPA after John Kerr"s resignation in 1948.
He subsequently practised as a psychiatrist from his home in North Sydney until his death at the age of 53.
He resumed his medical degree at the University of Sydney in 1950 and graduated Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Science in 1951, "with difficulty, and despite opposition from members of the faculty".
