Thea Astley

Thea Astley (1925-2004), novelist, was born in Brisbane and studied arts at the University of Queensland before becoming a teacher. After marrying, she moved to Sydney, where she tutored at Macquarie University. Publishing her first novel, Girl with a Monkey, in 1958, she went on to write fourteen books. Astley won a record four Miles Franklin awards - for The Well Dressed Explorer (1962), The Slow Natives (1965), The Acolyte (1972) and Drylands (2000) - and two Age Book of the Year awards. In 1989, the year in which she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Queensland, she won the Patrick White Award. Her last public recognition was a special award at the 2002 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, for her lifetime achievement as a 'trailblazer'.