Obituaries
Brian Nebenzahl: pioneer of theatre programs, price one shilling
“The deal was that you bought your girlfriend a corsage, a box of Winning Post chocolates and, of course, a program.”
- by Clare Masters
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Norm Field: pilot whose career went from Tiger Moths to Boeing 747s
Field took Qantas 707 into Vietnam war zone to airlift servicemen home.
- by Jim Eames
Merle Mitchell: community activist colossus
From her early days as a volunteer, through to the pinnacle of being president of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) as well as VCOSS, and countless committees, advisory groups, federal, state and local government inquiries, Merle Mitchell was a central figure in Australian social welfare for 50 years.
- by Jon Faine
John Clunies-Ross, ‘king’ of the Cocos Islands, was toppled by Canberra
His feudal kingdom triggered columns of indignation from liberal-minded Australian journalists.
From gifted student to respected research fellow
Chris Thomas, one of Australia’s most distinguished scientists and a respected research fellow into the psycho-social aspects of disease, has died in Melbourne following a six-year battle with brain cancer.
- by Robert McFarlane
Trevor Jarvie: FM pioneer of the classical airwaves
Jarvie created an awareness of how bad radio reception was with AM and helped bring the industry to a world of high fidelity.
- by Malcolm Brown
Composer who thrilled Sydney with his opera
The American insisted on the realism, humanity and universality of his characters.
- by Bruce Beresford
Status Quo star enticed by life down under
Alan Lancaster played the opening notes for Live Aid, the biggest global television event of all time.
- by Glenn A Baker
Ian Dunlop: filmmaker made early footage of Indigenous people
Dunlop’s films are a priceless record of the oldest continuous culture on Earth.
- by Jeremy Eccles
Opera enlivened Andrew Sinclair’s spirit
For Andrew Sinclair, who died unexpectedly in Melbourne last week at the age of 69, opera was not merely a job but a calling.
- by Michael Shmith
Roger Michell: Director who made hit comedy Notting Hill dead at 65
Michell agreed to direct Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace, but then walked away over script concerns.