Death of Kilmeny Niland

I was distressed to learn from Helen Dale of the death of Kilmeny Niland. I did not know Kilmeny; I became aware of her through the promotion of her work by her partner Rafe Champion.

I first came in contact with Rafe because of our joint interest in the history of Australian thought. As happens in the blogosphere, Rafe and I have never met. However, we have corresponded by email, with Rafe sending me material via email and in hard copy that he thought was relevant to our joint interests.

Just at present I do not have access to my past emails, nor to my email addresses. I cannot email Rafe, nor check my facts.

I can say that from the beginning of our contact Rafe's pride in Kilmeny and her work was central. It is clear that Kilmeny was a gifted artist, as well as a direct familial connection (her mother was Ruth Park, her father Darcy Niland) to a past that I write about a fair bit.

Nick Gruen on Club Troop had a rather nice tribute, Kilmeny, to add to Helen's comments. My thoughts are with Rafe and the family.