John Menadue

GRAHAM FREUDENBERG. Vale Evan Williams

No Australian adorned the professions of politics and journalism like Evan Williams.  He was much more than a beautiful writer.  He was a beautiful man, who brought a shining light and grace to thousands of lives. He died a few days ago.

Our friendship goes back absolutely unbroken since we met as cadets in Melbourne in 1955.  Our careers ran strongly parallel ever since.  It was more than a friendship.  It was a partnership.

Gough Whitlam and Neville Wran taught us the nobility of politics and Evan worked with that ideal to make it a reality in lives far beyond his loving family and friends.

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You may be interested to read three of the many articles Evan Williams wrote for Pearls & Irritations:  How to fix the Senate, Who cares what the papers say?, Chasing Asylum.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.

John Menadue

John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.

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