Anne Mary Ross Fairbairn (also Body, ; 1928 – 22 October 2018) was a widely published Australian poet, journalist and expert in

Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, in a region of the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab world. The various religions the Arabs have adopted throughout Histor ...

. Fairbairn has been known for her work in bringing together Australian and Arab cultures for over 30 years through poetry.

Personal life

She is the only granddaughter of Australia's fourth Prime Minister,

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...

. In 1965, she married Geoffrey Forrester Fairbairn, a Professor in the Department of History at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. Geoffrey died in London of lung cancer on 11 September 1980. She died at the age of 90 on 22 October 2018.

Awards and honours

In 1995, she was awarded the Banjo Paterson Writing Award for Open Poetry. This was followed by the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1998 for services to literature and international relations between Australia and the Middle East. In September 2005, Fairbairn received the award, "Living for Others – Promoting Peace through Media, Arts and Culture" from the International and Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace presented in Sydney by Professor Marie Bashir AO, Governor of New South Wales.Legislative council
14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, Anne 1928 births 2018 deaths Australian women poets Australian women journalists Australian journalists Members of the Order of Australia Australian Arabists Australian poets