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, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...

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

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...

. 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 research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

. Geoffrey died in London of lung cancer on 11 September 1980. Fairbairn has been known for her work in bringing together Australian and Arab cultures for over 30 years through poetry. In 1995, she was awarded the

Banjo Paterson Writing Award The Banjo Paterson Writing Award is an Australian literary award honouring the legacy of Australian writer Andrew Barton Paterson (1864-1941) and is awarded annually in the categories of prose, poetry and children’s writing. Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

in 1998 for services to literature and international relations between Australia and the Middle East. In September 2005 Dr 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. She died at the age of 90 on 22 October 2018.

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