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Obituaries

Dr Harry Phillips in the WA Parliamentary Library.

Obituary PremiumEducator who taught in voice for the people

Harry Phillips believed in the old maxim that if something is worth doing it’s worth doing well. And he practised what he preached.

Peter Kennedy

Trix of The Trade won the 2022 Railway Stakes for trainer Colin Webster.

ObituaryPremiumThe race trainer with a realist approach

Respect is hard earned and a rare commodity, particularly in the frantic world of horseracing. Yet in horseracing it can be defined in two words: Colin Webster.

John Elsegood

Diana de Vos.

ObituaryPremiumHow a technical maestra put feeling in form

Though she rose to be a soloist and principal dancer, it was as a teacher of classical ballet that Diana de Vos found particular satisfaction.

Patrick Cornish

Donald H. Green.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumArtist drew worldly riches on to epic interiors

Donald H. Green has left behind a legacy of magnificent paintings which adorn some of the most beautiful houses of Australia.

Lyle Georgeson

Kalannie farmer Ian Stanley with some biochar which was trialled with wheat on his property.

ObituaryPremiumFarmer promoted wellbeing from the ground up

Ian Stanley’s contributions have strengthened the social fabric and environmental resilience of rural heartlands, taking a leadership role in a number of farmer groups and serving the Country Football WA board.

Simon Dawkins

Joan Blackburn at age 15 and and about 85.

IN MEMORY PremiumJoan Blackburn remembered after her death on April 28

Remembered for her humour, love of life and service to the Harvey community, Joan Frances Blackburn (nee White) died peacefully aged 99 on April 28 2026. 

Rose Patane

Gwenyth Graham AM.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumHuman rights advocate who gave support to all

With the arrival and detention of refugees from Afghanistan and the Middle East in 2000, Gwenyth Graham became actively involved in establishing CARAD, the Coalition Assisting Refugees After Detention.

James Graham & Julie Easton

Veteran war photographer Tony Ashby with some of the powerful images on display at the Alexander library, July 11, 1994.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumPhotos told human stories of conflict

Long before the digital age there was, for certain persistent types of photographer, a digging age. Photographer Tony Ashby was a champion digger for visual opportunities.

Patrick Cornish

June Butcher.

obituary CommentsPremiumNurse’s calling was to care for wildlife

June Butcher’s life was devoted to care for birds, noisy or otherwise, as well as for animals, including the human variety. Her prime legacy is Kanyana Wildlife, now a fully equipped centre at Lesmurdie.

Patrick Cornish

Malcolm 'Ozzy' Osborne.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumMusician kept beat pumping in local rock scene

Malcolm ‘Ozzy’ Osborne didn’t just play in WA’s live music scene — he built much of it, one band, one booking and one young musician at a time.

Matthew Hogan

Russell McKay.

ObituaryPremiumPublican from the Pilbara who went all in

Russell McKay, a Pilbara publican and prominent figure in the hospitality industry, lived a life that captured something of WA itself: adventurous, entrepreneurial and deeply connected to people and place.

Kelly Peacock

Dave Clement tossed the coin at the last ever WAFL grand final at Subiaco Oval, his 70th consecutive WAFL grand final.

obituaryPremiumWAFL historian with a head for statistics

In the mid-1960s, a quiet wool classer, David Clement, became somewhat of a TV celebrity as a football quiz champion.

John Elsegood

Dr Cecil Walkley.

Obituary PremiumHow a pacesetting medic put a stamp on life

Cecil Walkley faithfully served WA for over 60 years in his capacities as a country doctor, physician of rehabilitation medicine, athlete, philatelist and returned serviceman.

Stefan Frodsham

Abigail Parker was a passionate member of Albany’s artistic community and a stalwart of the CWA.

Art lossArtist and CWA stalwart Abigail Parker was ‘one of a kind’

Albany’s art community is mourning the sudden passing of Abigail Parker, who died on March 2.

Claire Middleton

Mary Kitchen.

obituary PremiumThe dairy farmer who kept things running

Should anyone have visited Carenda at milking time they would have met Mary Kitchen bottle-feeding the new-born calves in the calf shed or spraying cows’ teats as they backed off the rotary dairy platform.

Gwen Wiseman

Bruce Barblett.

obituary PremiumMade a dentist visit much more pleasant

Worms, wine and jazz — just three of the conversation topics Bruce Barblett enjoyed. If you were sitting in his dentist’s chair, your stilled jaw and voice would prevent participation until treatment was over.

Patrick Cornish

Gwenevere Watson in Greece in 2010.

obituaryCommentsPremiumHow a traveller satisfied her lifelong wanderlust

Gwenevere Watson was a teenager in the early 1940s in the remote town of Katanning when a fortune teller foretold: “You will travel the world.”

Pamela Watson

John McIlwraith in 1965, when he won the Lovekin prize for journalism.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumBusiness writer got straight to the point

Born into a poor household in the Great Depression with incomplete hands and feet and a limp, then left motherless at eight with a gambling-addicted dad, John McIlwraith’s chances of thriving were not good.

Robert Pride

Peter John Buswell.

obituaryCommentsPremiumCyclist overcame adversity on and off the track

One of Western Australia’s finest cyclists and a proud World War II veteran, Peter John Buswell is remembered not only for his sporting achievements but his story is woven into the fabric of Bunbury’s history. 

Anthony Blee & Greg Buswell

Dave McDonald.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumHow a gas explorer awakened the giants

The young Canadian geophysicist Dave McDonald arrived in Australia in June 1965 to join the other five employees of Burmah Oil, to help operate the initial exploration of the North West Shelf.

Don Poynton

Karina Sysko.

obituaryPremiumFound harmony in love and generosity

Young Karina Sysko first heard the piano in Warsaw at war. She soon learned to tell Mozart from murder.

Patrick Cornish

Ian Molyneux.

ObituaryPremiumArchitect turned landscapes & heritage into art

As an architect Ian Molyneux shaped WA’s built heritage practices and as an artist he captured Australia’s landscapes in bold acrylic paintings.

Claire Molyneux

Recce’s Dr Graham Melrose in 2018.

ObituaryPremiumChemist strove to innovate in home and hospital

Dr Graham Melrose was one of Australia’s most accomplished chemists and innovators, whose career spanned Johnson & Johnson’s No More Tears shampoo to the frontline of antibiotic resistance.

Andrew Geddes

Robert Cooper.

ObituaryPremiumHow a violin virtuoso made a home at WASO

Robert Cooper won his first violin scholarship at the age of 10 and moved to the UK to study music performance. After the London Symphony and Royal Opera House orchestras, he became concertmaster of WASO.

Jill Cooper, Patrick Brislan & Mary Nemet