Thursday, June 12, 2014

AUSTRALIAN WARRIOR AND POLIFIC LETTER WRITER

Unnoticed   by  the  media ,  a  passionate  campaigner for  the  environment  and   social  issues , Shirley Prout , 84, died on May 24   at  Malanda ,North Queensland.  Over  the  years  Shirley wrote  thousands of  letters  to  politicians  and  government departments  to  save and  protect  the  natural  environment  and   its  inhabitants.  Shirley always  wrote  her letters  in  longhand, shunning typewriters and computers.  She believed  that  politicians  had become so used to multiple  typed  letters from groups all saying the same thing that they no longer read them.  So she  kept  on  with longhand, believing  that  they were more likely to come to  the attention of  the intended  recipient.
 
 Many  politicians  acknowledged  her  many letters  when they met her and commented on how they always picked  them  out of  a  bundle  and  read them.   In the International Year  of  the Volunteer , Shirley  received an  award for her tenacious  and extensive representations.  She  was  proud to receive  the award  and  proud  to  be  sitting  with  a   woman  from Palm  Island who was  receiving  an  award recognising  her work  in women's groups  on  the  island .
 
Apart   from  environmental politics, Shirley's most important  ideals  revolved around social justice, particularly  for Aborigines.  From  Yamba and  Wollongong in  NSW,  her  husband was   an army officer  who  for a number of  years was stationed at  Woomera, South Australia. It is understood   he was   killed  in  a car accident , leaving her a widow with five children. 
 
Shirley   lived   in  Northern Queensland  for most of her later life- a  lot of that  time   in  a  remote part of  the  rainforest  near Cooktown. On leaving there , she   made  sure that her land was sold to  a local Aboriginal clan  who had  been  waiting for  a  grant, and  set  the price at  an affordable level . For a time she lived on   Magnetic Island and was a member of the ALP, making  numerous , strong  contributions  to  discussions  on  a  wide  range  of  issues . Shirley  objected  strongly  to   rangers   burning  off   around  a  lagoon used by  wildlife  on  the island . She was active  in  local  environmental  groups right up to  the  end  and in her  abode she  had  an L-shaped desk on  which was  kept correspondence .  NOTE : It  has  been suggested  that Shirley  was actually 87-no further correspondence shall  be entered  into  on  this  subject.