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Obituaries

Joan Blackburn at age 15 and and about 85.

IN MEMORY PremiumJoan Blackburn remembered after her death on April 28

Remembered for her humour, love of life and service to the Harvey community, Joan Frances Blackburn (nee White) died peacefully aged 99 on April 28 2026. 

Rose Patane

Malcolm 'Ozzy' Osborne.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumMusician kept beat pumping in local rock scene

Malcolm ‘Ozzy’ Osborne didn’t just play in WA’s live music scene — he built much of it, one band, one booking and one young musician at a time.

Matthew Hogan

Russell McKay.

ObituaryPremiumPublican from the Pilbara who went all in

Russell McKay, a Pilbara publican and prominent figure in the hospitality industry, lived a life that captured something of WA itself: adventurous, entrepreneurial and deeply connected to people and place.

Kelly Peacock

Dave Clement tossed the coin at the last ever WAFL grand final at Subiaco Oval, his 70th consecutive WAFL grand final.

obituaryPremiumWAFL historian with a head for statistics

In the mid-1960s, a quiet wool classer, David Clement, became somewhat of a TV celebrity as a football quiz champion.

John Elsegood

Dr Cecil Walkley.

Obituary PremiumHow a pacesetting medic put a stamp on life

Cecil Walkley faithfully served WA for over 60 years in his capacities as a country doctor, physician of rehabilitation medicine, athlete, philatelist and returned serviceman.

Stefan Frodsham

Abigail Parker was a passionate member of Albany’s artistic community and a stalwart of the CWA.

Art lossArtist and CWA stalwart Abigail Parker was ‘one of a kind’

Albany’s art community is mourning the sudden passing of Abigail Parker, who died on March 2.

Claire Middleton

Mary Kitchen.

obituary PremiumThe dairy farmer who kept things running

Should anyone have visited Carenda at milking time they would have met Mary Kitchen bottle-feeding the new-born calves in the calf shed or spraying cows’ teats as they backed off the rotary dairy platform.

Gwen Wiseman

Bruce Barblett.

obituary PremiumMade a dentist visit much more pleasant

Worms, wine and jazz — just three of the conversation topics Bruce Barblett enjoyed. If you were sitting in his dentist’s chair, your stilled jaw and voice would prevent participation until treatment was over.

Patrick Cornish

Gwenevere Watson in Greece in 2010.

obituaryCommentsPremiumHow a traveller satisfied her lifelong wanderlust

Gwen was a teenager in the early 1940s in the remote town of Katanning when a fortune teller foretold: “You will travel the world.”

Pamela Watson

John McIlwraith in 1965, when he won the Lovekin prize for journalism.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumBusiness writer got straight to the point

Born into a poor household in the Great Depression with incomplete hands and feet and a limp, then left motherless at eight with a gambling addicted dad, the Leederville lad’s chances of thriving were not good.

Robert Pride

Peter John Buswell.

obituaryCommentsPremiumCyclist overcame adversity on and off the track

One of Western Australia’s finest cyclists and a proud World War II veteran, Peter John Buswell is remembered not only for his sporting achievements but his story is woven into the fabric of Bunbury’s history. 

Anthony Blee & Greg Buswell

Dave McDonald.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumHow a gas explorer awakened the giants

The young Canadian geophysicist Dave McDonald arrived in Australia in June 1965 to join the other five employees of Burmah Oil, to help operate the initial exploration of the North West Shelf.

Don Poynton

Karina Sysko.

obituaryPremiumFound harmony in love and generosity

Young Karina first heard the piano in Warsaw at war. She soon learned to tell Mozart from murder.

Patrick Cornish

Ian Molyneux.

ObituaryPremiumArchitect turned landscapes & heritage into art

As an architect Ian Molyneux shaped WA’s built heritage practices and as an artist he captured Australia’s landscapes in bold acrylic paintings.

Claire Molyneux

Recce’s Dr Graham Melrose in 2018.

ObituaryPremiumChemist strove to innovate in home and hospital

Dr Graham Melrose was one of Australia’s most accomplished chemists and innovators, whose career spanned Johnson & Johnson’s No More Tears shampoo to the frontline of antibiotic resistance.

Andrew Geddes

Robert Cooper.

ObituaryPremiumHow a violin virtuoso made a home at WASO

Robert won his first scholarship on violin at the age of 10 and moved to the UK to study music performance. After stints in the London Symphony and Royal Opera House orchestras, he became concertmaster of WASO.

Jill Cooper, Patrick Brislan & Mary Nemet

V. Rev. Cor-Episcopo Fr. Boutros Touma Issa.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumPriest who established Syrian Orthodox Church in WA

In 1989 Fr Issa arrived in Perth, accompanied by his wife and their youngest son, to establish the St Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church in Western Australia.

Theodore Issa

Dilwyn “Digger” Cleak pictured with his medals in 2003. The former Albany RSL president died on December 19.

Digger Cleak‘He was a doer; if something needed to be done, he did it’

Dilwyn “Digger” Cleak, who died on December 19, aged 81, was a former president of the Albany RSL and a key voice in the push to make the city the home of Australia’s Anzacs.

Claire Middleton

Albert Tognolini.

ObituaryPremiumPut regions on the road to progress

Heat, humidity, dust in the dry season and mud in the wet are challenges for motorists in the Kimberley. When Albert Tognolini got his posting to WA’s far north in 1960, the challenges were much greater.

Patrick Cornish

Robert Elliot.

ObituaryPremiumNumbers all added up in life of service

From an office boy to senior partner of the Perth office of an international accountancy firm, Robert Frederick Elliot made an outstanding success of his business life.

Anne Elliot

Ray Taylor when he was WA Newspapers advertising manager.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumGot message across in copy and melody

With a background in printing and advertising studies, Ray Taylor was assigned to generate selling ideas for Daily News advertising reps to present to prospective advertisers.

Ray Taylor with Noella Ridley

Peter Bowler.

ObituaryPremiumHow a footy boss marked a line on the game

The man whose idea it was to paint the now standard 50m line arcs at each end of WA football grounds was long-time WAFL general manager, and a visionary with a genuine love for the game, Peter Bowler.

Rick Vredenbregt & Terry O’Brien

Valma Butler.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumGlamour girl danced a storm in ballroom

One thing that fooled many was Valma’s boundless energy, even at the age of 85. She could still expertly manage a two-minute Viennese waltz around the ballroom to the delight of many observers.

Rod Butler

Alan Vest.

ObituaryCommentsPremiumTaught love of game in his push for glory

Kiwis — the human kind — tend to talk as if rugby union were the only men’s team game on the planet. Alan Vest, once captain of New Zealand’s soccer team and an international coach, would have disagreed.

Patrick Cornish