Jill Hellyer

Jill Hellyer
Occupation	poet, novelist

Jill Hellyer (born 1925) is an Australian poet and writer, and one of the founding members of the Australian Society of Authors. She is the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Australian poetry.

Biography

Jill Winsome Hellyer was born in 1925 in Sydney, Australia, to parents Harold and Ruby. Her older brother, Allan, died of a chronic illness in his teenage years, and Jill's father died soon afterwards. Her mother, Ruby, was diagnosed with leukaemia and died when Jill was 12. Jill was sent to live with two unmarried aunts in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth, who raised her until adulthood and inspired several of her better-known poems, including "Living With Aunts", which is included in The Puncher and Wattman anthology of Australian Poetry. She attended North Sydney Girls High School.

An avid writer throughout her life, Jill Hellyer has been a consistent contributor of poetry and prose to literary magazines such as Southerly, Overland, Meanjin and Heat. She helped to establish the Australian Society of Authors and was its foundation secretary from 1963 to 1971. She was subsequently made a life member for her services. In 2006 she was awarded an OAM for that work and her contribution to Australian poetry. She has published three collections of verse and a novel, as well as editing a biography and compiling a collection of satirical epitaphs.

Hellyer raised three children, two of whom had significant disabilities. She now has six grand-children, and three great-grandchildren. She lives in Sydney where she continues to write poetry.

Publications

• The Exile – Selected Verse, Poetry, 1969, Alpha Books.
• Not Enough Savages,, Novel, 1975 Alpha Books.
• Song of the Humpback Whales – Selected Verse, 1981, Sisters Publishing Ltd.
• The Listening Place, 2007, Ginninderra Press.
• Tomb It May Concern Ed.

Themes

Hellyer's work is highly influenced by her upbringing and adult life in Australia. Many of her poems centre around Australian history (The Last Song of Edward Kelly, The Ballad of Elinor Magee) or native landscape and wildlife (Song of the Humpback Whales, Dingo, Manly Pines). Others offer poignant portraits of Australian life (O'Regan's Bride, Miss Petty's Sunlight). However, Hellyer's most enduring and engaging work relates to her subjective experiences of love, loss, and intensely felt details of everyday life (Alone, Living with Aunts, Young Girl Awakening, The Exile). Poems including To My Deaf Son, Facing Blindness, and Schizophrenia depict Hellyer's struggles in raising two disabled sons.

Awards

• Poetry Magazine Award, 1965.

References

• The Puncher and Wattman anthology of Australian Poetry, Living with Aunts, page 223
• Australian]] Review Section|date= April 26–27, 2008 |accessdate= }}
• "Papers of Jill Hellyer (1925- )". National Library of Australia. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms6814" ignored (help)