25/06/2026
Women Wednesday's - focus on Anne Deveson.
Anne Deveson was an influential Australian broadcaster, social commentator, novelist, and filmmaker. She worked in both the UK and Australia and became one of the first people in Australia to use talkback radio. She had a Member of the Order of Australia (1983) and Officer of the Order of Australia (1993).
Career highlights
• Presenter at 2GB and the ABC in the 1950s, pioneering talkback radio.
• Worked for BBC and The New York Times early in her career.
• Executive Director of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (1985–1988).
• Chair of the South Australian Film Corporation (1984–1987).
Advocacy and social impact:
Anne became a major figure in mental health advocacy, especially after her son Jonathan was diagnosed with schizophrenia and later died from a drug overdose. She:
• Co-founded Schizophrenia Australia and helped establish SANE Australia.
• Served on the Royal Commission on Human Relationships (1974–77).
• Wrote the award-winning memoir Tell Me I’m Here (1991), later adapted into the documentary Spinning Out.
Photo credit: Anne Deveson, by Andrew Long, 1997, National Library of Australia, 24669511
