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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2105 ..
MR KAINE
(continuing):I think his contribution to this community is sometimes underestimated because he went about his job really quietly. He did not publicise what he was doing very much at all. He was quite a humble man. I believe that this community has benefited enormously from Gordon's contribution over many years, and I believe he will be remembered by many, if not by all, of the members of this community for his diligence and his commitment to the interests of this community. As somebody who worked with Gordon and knew him well during those heady days of the 1970s and the 1980s when we were struggling for self-government, I join wholeheartedly with the Chief Minister in this motion of condolence to Naomi and Gordon's children.
Question resolved in the affirmative, members standing in their places.
MS CARNELL (Chief Minister): Mr Speaker, I move:
That this Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Judith Wright McKinney, one of Australia's best-known and most respected poets and passionate activists, who spent the last twenty years of her life in the ACT region, and tenders its profound sympathy to her daughter, Meredith-Anne McKinney, in her bereavement.
It was with much sadness that I learnt of the recent death of Ms Judith Wright McKinney. Judith Wright was one of Australia's best-known and most respected poets and passionate activists, spending the last 20 years of her life here in the Canberra region.
Judith was born on 31 May 1915 at a station near Armidale in New South Wales and was raised on her family property, Wallamumbi, in the New England tableland. She was educated at the New England Girls School and later moved to Sydney to work and write.
During World War II Judith met and married self-taught philosopher, Jack Wright. The two settled in the rainforests of Mount Tambourine in Queensland where, in April 1950, their daughter, Meredith-Anne, was born.
During her life Judith was a prolific poet, critic, editor, essayist, children's writer and short story writer and she will be well remembered for her outstanding contribution to Australia's cultural life. She published more than 40 books and was one of the first Australian poets to be used in English syllabuses in Australian schools. Twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, Judith was a recipient of many honours, including several honorary doctorates. She was awarded the World Prize for Poetry in 1984, the prestigious Queen's Medal for Poetry in 1992, and the Australian Human Award for Literature in 1994.
At the time of her death Judith Wright was working on a second volume of her autobiography, despite deteriorating eyesight, profound deafness and illness which slowed but did not stop her commitment to writing. Judith's first volume, Half a Lifetime, was published last year to wide critical acclaim. It is unfortunate that her second volume was incomplete at the time of her death.
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