Jill Mather
31 March 1937 - 25 April 2024
A former freelance journalist, Jill Mather worked for various international newspapers before becoming a television presenter, writer, and contributor of many short stories and articles for the ABC and other regional newspapers and radio stations. She was also featured in the ABC documentary film The Australian War Horses. Her writings have encompassed several genres: children’s books, novels, short stories, historical research and had over 20 plays performed. A remarkable life of high achievement, service to teaching, writing and the arts.
Jill Mather was born on March 31, 1937 in Te-Awamutu, a Waikato province in the North Island of New Zealand. Being struck with polio at the age of 15 she spent the next four and a half years in hospital. After enrolling in a Law degree, she took up a journalist cadetship with the New Zealand Herald in Auckland. And later worked as a Town Clerk in Russell.
She moved to Australia in 1970 settling in Mackay Queensland and after opening a clothing boutique and working in a travel agency, she embarked on a tertiary teaching career that would last for over 25 years. While living in Queensland she authored several books including 'Discovering North Queensland' and a number of plays including a play on Breaker Morant.
She retired from teaching in 2009. In her retirement on the Central Coast of NSW she was very active giving many talks about prominent and neglected writers at the Gosford Regional Art Gallery and other venues. She gave audiences well researched expositions of the lives and writings of authors such as Patrick White, Iris Murdoch, Osbert and Edith Sitwell, Charmian Clift, Edith Wharton, among others. Several of her plays were staged by local theatre groups including 'Colette’s Feast' about the French writer Colette. She was regularly asked to be an adjudicator for writing and short story competitions.
At other times she gave much requested presentations at Probus clubs, RSL gatherings and Veteran’s symposiums on the history of Waler horses in wars that involved Australian servicemen and women.
Prior to being struck down with polio as a teenager Jill was an experienced horsewoman competing in many shows. Her love of horses, and commitment to animal welfare, continued throughout her life.
Her great passion over the last twenty years was addressing the gap in our history about the role Australian horses and other animals played in warfare, an area neglected by many historians of war and conflict. She authored nine books on this topic.
In 'Forgotten Heroes: The Australian Waler Horse' she chronicled the journey this original stock horse made from a domestic animal to a war horse without equal. The Boer War and World Wars I and 2 saw thousands shipped overseas most never to return home.
In 'Gallipoli's War Horses: From the Dardanelles to Damascus 1915-1918', she records the contribution made by the thousands of horses that landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Mesopotamia and Egypt in World War One. The book recounts testimonies from soldiers and their bonds with the horses they rode and cared for.
'The Old Campaigners - Camels, Mules, Donkeys and Waler Horses' commemorates the role horses and other animals played in wars which saw eight million animals perish in the bloodiest of battles. She wanted to preserve their legacy, retell many of their journeys, and draw on archival sources that documented their plight.
More recently she wrote, 'Major Banjo Paterson: The Man Who Loved Horses' (2021) in which she brings to light a largely unknown aspect of his life: his commitment to the welfare of horses. Revered for his much-loved poems and ballads, Banjo’s wartime service and work with Army horses is less known and very little has been written regarding his role as a horse master in Egypt in World War One.
Her book collection and manuscripts have been donated to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
After 70 years of relying on a caliper to walk her legs finally gave way. In 2021 she lost her mobility and became wheelchair bound. Unable to continue living at home though highly active, fiercely independent, and mentally sharp she moved to a nursing home. She found the transition very challenging. The melancholy of leaving home and losing her independence.
Jill Mather was married twice, enjoyed a highly productive and creative life, raised two loving sons as a single parent and left us with an enduring legacy. She is survived by her sons Craig McGrath and John Hives.
Peter Khoury
Location: Wyong
Jill Mather
31 March 1937 - 25 April 2024
A former freelance journalist, Jill Mather worked for various international newspapers before becoming a television presenter, writer, and contributor of many short stories and articles for the ABC and other regional newspapers and radio stations. She was also featured in the ABC documentary film The Australian War Horses. Her writings have encompassed several genres: children’s books, novels, short stories, historical research and had over 20 plays performed. A remarkable life of high achievement, service to teaching, writing and the arts.
Jill Mather was born on March 31, 1937 in Te-Awamutu, a Waikato province in the North Island of New Zealand. Being struck with polio at the age of 15 she spent the next four and a half years in hospital. After enrolling in a Law degree, she took up a journalist cadetship with the New Zealand Herald in Auckland. And later worked as a Town Clerk in Russell.
She moved to Australia in 1970 settling in Mackay Queensland and after opening a clothing boutique and working in a travel agency, she embarked on a tertiary teaching career that would last for over 25 years. While living in Queensland she authored several books including 'Discovering North Queensland' and a number of plays including a play on Breaker Morant.
She retired from teaching in 2009. In her retirement on the Central Coast of NSW she was very active giving many talks about prominent and neglected writers at the Gosford Regional Art Gallery and other venues. She gave audiences well researched expositions of the lives and writings of authors such as Patrick White, Iris Murdoch, Osbert and Edith Sitwell, Charmian Clift, Edith Wharton, among others. Several of her plays were staged by local theatre groups including 'Colette’s Feast' about the French writer Colette. She was regularly asked to be an adjudicator for writing and short story competitions.
At other times she gave much requested presentations at Probus clubs, RSL gatherings and Veteran’s symposiums on the history of Waler horses in wars that involved Australian servicemen and women.
Prior to being struck down with polio as a teenager Jill was an experienced horsewoman competing in many shows. Her love of horses, and commitment to animal welfare, continued throughout her life.
Her great passion over the last twenty years was addressing the gap in our history about the role Australian horses and other animals played in warfare, an area neglected by many historians of war and conflict. She authored nine books on this topic.
In 'Forgotten Heroes: The Australian Waler Horse' she chronicled the journey this original stock horse made from a domestic animal to a war horse without equal. The Boer War and World Wars I and 2 saw thousands shipped overseas most never to return home.
In 'Gallipoli's War Horses: From the Dardanelles to Damascus 1915-1918', she records the contribution made by the thousands of horses that landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Mesopotamia and Egypt in World War One. The book recounts testimonies from soldiers and their bonds with the horses they rode and cared for.
'The Old Campaigners - Camels, Mules, Donkeys and Waler Horses' commemorates the role horses and other animals played in wars which saw eight million animals perish in the bloodiest of battles. She wanted to preserve their legacy, retell many of their journeys, and draw on archival sources that documented their plight.
More recently she wrote, 'Major Banjo Paterson: The Man Who Loved Horses' (2021) in which she brings to light a largely unknown aspect of his life: his commitment to the welfare of horses. Revered for his much-loved poems and ballads, Banjo’s wartime service and work with Army horses is less known and very little has been written regarding his role as a horse master in Egypt in World War One.
Her book collection and manuscripts have been donated to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
After 70 years of relying on a caliper to walk her legs finally gave way. In 2021 she lost her mobility and became wheelchair bound. Unable to continue living at home though highly active, fiercely independent, and mentally sharp she moved to a nursing home. She found the transition very challenging. The melancholy of leaving home and losing her independence.
Jill Mather was married twice, enjoyed a highly productive and creative life, raised two loving sons as a single parent and left us with an enduring legacy. She is survived by her sons Craig McGrath and John Hives.
Peter Khoury
