Rosemary Neville Wighton (6 January 1925 – 7 February 1994) was an Australian literary editor, author and adviser to the South Australian government on women's affairs.

Early life and education

Rosemary Neville Wighton was born on 6 January 1925, the third child of Arthur Seaforth and Rose Ada (née Kelly) Blackburn. Her father was the first South Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross. She was educated at the

Wilderness School Wilderness School is an independent, non-denominational Christian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Medindie, an inner northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Established by the Brown family in 1884 with four girls and one sm ...

before attending the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(honours).

Career

Following graduation, Wighton tutored in English at the University of Adelaide in 1946. After her marriage, between 1950 and 1958, she tutored part-time. Wighton married Dugald Wighton in St Peter's College Chapel on 22 May 1948. In 1961, she and Max Harris became founding editors of the

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are " ...

. From 1971 to 1979, Wighton lectured at the Salisbury College of Advanced Education, specialising in children's literature. She was appointed to the Literature Board in 1974 and chaired it from 1984 to 1988. In 1979 she wrote the introduction to a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

edition of ''A Mother's Offering to her Children'' by Charlotte Barton. This book is believed to be the first Australian book for children, originally published in 1841. From 1979 to 1984 she was adviser on women's affairs to the South Australian

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. In July 1983 she was appointed member of the Family Law Council by Attorney-General Gareth Evans.

Works

* ''Early Australian Children's Literature'', Lansdowne, 1963 * ''Kangaroo Tales: A Collection of Australian Stories for Children'', selected by Rosemary Wighton, with illustrations by

Donald Friend Donald Stuart Leslie Friend (6 February 1915 – 16 August 1989) was an Australian artist and diarist who lived much of his life overseas. He has been the subject of controversy since the posthumous publication of diaries in which he wrote about ...

, Penguin, 1963 * ''Peeling the Onion: The Story of a Family'', self-published, 1993

Awards and recognition

At the University of Adelaide she won the Roby Fletcher Prize for Psychology in 1942. In her final year she received first-class honours in English and won the

John Howard Clark John Howard Clark (15 January 1830 – 20 May 1878) was editor of '' The South Australian Register'' from 1870 to 1877 and was responsible for its ''Echoes from the Bush'' column and closely associated with its ''Geoffry Crabthorn'' persona. ...

prize. In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours Wighton was appointed an

Officer of 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 ...

(AO) for "public service, to literature and to the community".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wighton, Rosemary 1925 births 1994 deaths Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian writers Blackburn family