Anne Deveson
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Anne Deveson AO |
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Deveson in 2013
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| Born |
Anne Barbara Deveson 19 June 1930 Kuala Lumpur, Malaya |
| Died | 12 December 2016 (aged 86) Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation | Novelist, broadcaster, filmmaker |
| Spouse(s) | Ellis Blain |
| Partner(s) | Robert Theobald |
| Children | 3 (including Georgia Blain) |
Anne Barbara Deveson AO (19 June 1930 – 12 December 2016) was an Australian writer, broadcaster, filmmaker and social commentator, who also worked in England.
Deveson was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. During World War II, Deveson's family were evacuated to Western Australia as refugees before returning to England. Her first job was on a small London newspaper called The Kensington News.
She later worked in the London offices of the BBC and the New York Times. In 1956, Deveson moved back to Australia and began working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Sydney.
In the 1950s Deveson was a presenter for radio station 2GB and was one of the first people in Australia to use talkback radio.
Deveson was known to many Australians as "the Omo lady" after appearing in television commercials for that brand of soap powder. Later in her career, she held a number of leadership positions in the industry: she chaired the South Australian Film Corporation from 1984 to 1987 and from 1985-88, she was Executive Director of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
Deveson was also an active lobbyist for the rights of women, children and the disabled. Following the diagnosis of her son Jonathan with schizophrenia and his death from a drug overdose, she helped to start the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW in 1985. In 1986 she worked with Dr Margaret Leggatt to launch the national body Schizophrenia Australia Foundation, now named SANE Australia. She was also a member of the Royal Commission into Human Relationships (1974–77), NSW Medical Tribunal (1999–2010), Expert Advisory Group on Drugs and Alcohol (1999–2007) and the NSW Mental Health Tribunal (2002–07).
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