Lorna Doone Pleasance Kennedy (10 May 1927 – 30 August 2014) was an Australian politician and civic leader who served as the Lord Mayor of Hobart, the capital of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, from 1986 until 1996. Kennedy was the first woman to be elected Lord Mayor of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and remained the city's only female mayor until the election of

Sue Hickey Susanne Lynnette Hickey (born 25 July 1958) is an Australian politician. She represented the electorate of Denison (later re-named Clark) from the 2018 state election until her defeat at the 2021 election, sitting with the Liberal Party until ...

in 2014.

Biography

Early and personal life

Kennedy was born Lorna Doone Pleasance Brewer on 10 May 1927. She was raised on a

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

sheep farm. Brewer dropped out of school when she was 16 years old to find work following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was hired by the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

in 1944, which transferred her twice, first to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and then to Hobart, where she arrived in April 1947 at the age of 19. She soon met John Kennedy, her future husband, who was fifteen years older than her. John Kennedy had been an Australian

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

who was forced to work on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

by the Japanese during World War II. The couple married in 1949 and had two children. John Kennedy later served as an alderman on the Hobart City Council from 1970 until 1982. He once ran for Lord Mayor himself, but lost the election.

Political career

Doone Kennedy was first elected to the Hobart City Council in 1982, the same year that her husband left office. She served as a city alderman from 1982 until her election as Lord Mayor in 1986. Kennedy focused on philanthropic organizations once she entered politics. By 1986, the year of her election as Lord Mayor, Kennedy had served as a president or board member of numerous organizations, including the Asthma Foundation, the Hobart District Nursing Service, Greening of Australia, the Mary Ogilvy Home Society, the board of

Queen Alexandra Hospital The Queen Alexandra Hospital (commonly known as QA Hospital, QAH or simply QA) is a large NHS hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Located in Cosham, it is run by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and has a Ministry of Defence Hospital U ...

, the Narryna Heritage Museum, the trustees of the

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

, Southern Regional Ambulance Service Advisory Council, and the Sudden Infant Death Society. in 1986, Doone Kennedy announced her candidacy for Lord Mayor of Hobart. (In a mayoral flyer distributed at the time, Kennedy "offers" herself as a candidate). Kennedy campaigned on a platform of city

beautification Beautification is the process of making visual improvements to a town, city, or urban area. This most often involves planting trees, shrubbery, and other greenery, but frequently also includes adding decorative or historic-style street lights and ...

, the preservation of

Queens Domain The Queens Domain, also known as The Domain to locals, is a small hilly area of bushland just north-east of the CBD of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, alongside the Derwent River, Tasmania, Derwent River. It is traditionally land that "belongs to ...

as an open space, and pro-business policies. She wrote at the time, "We need to beautify our

carpark A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

s—eliminate every possible ugliness... Add to the beauty of our streets by stepping up our tree-planting program and general beautification." Doone Kennedy was elected Lord Mayor in 1986, becoming the first woman to hold the office. She championed beautification programs and city development throughout her five consecutive, elected terms as Lord Mayor. Kennedy promoted Hobart as both a commercial hub and a destination for

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Lord Mayor Kennedy secured funding for the

Hobart Aquatic Centre The Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre is a major, $17 million aquatic sporting facility located upon the Queens Domain, within less than 1 kilometre of the CBD of Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, Australia. The venue has hosted the Aust ...

. She instigated tree planting programs, construction and renovations of Soundy Park in

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the ...

and the Lord Mayor's Garden, located next to

Hobart Town Hall Hobart Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building which serves as seat of the City of Hobart local government area, hosting council meetings as well as acting as public auditorium that can be hired from the council. It is also open to periodi ...

. Under Kennedy, lighting was installed to illuminate the trees of

Salamanca Place Salamanca Place is a precinct of Hobart, the capital city of the Australian state of Tasmania. Salamanca Place itself consists of rows of sandstone buildings, formerly warehouses for the port of Hobart Town that have since been converted into ...

. Landmark

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

s were also added to the ballroom of the

. Kennedy remained very popular during her ten-year reign as Lord Mayor from 1986 to 1996. Lord Mayors of Hobart are elected every two years. Doone Kennedy consistently won all five of her mayoral elections with approximately 65% of the vote. Kennedy declined to re-election in 1996, citing the wishes of her husband and, in an interview with ''The Mercury'', saying she "preferred to be a housewife." She was the longest serving Lord Mayor in Australia at the time of her retirement from office in 1996. Doone Kennedy remained the only woman to serve as Lord Mayor of Hobart until

's election in 2014. In 1994, Kennedy was awarded the

Officer of the 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 Gove ...

. The award recognized her efforts to promote

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

in Hobart and her career in

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. Doone Kennedy died following a short illness at the JW Whittle Ward

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

unit on 30 August 2014, at the age of 87.

Legacy

In October 2015 the Hobart Aquatic Centre was renamed in her honour as the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Doone 1927 births 2014 deaths Mayors and Lord Mayors of Hobart Women mayors of places in Tasmania Tasmanian local councillors Officers of the Order of Australia Politicians from Hobart People from New South Wales Women local councillors in Australia