Special Interest Matter - Tribute to Joan Margaret Green OAM

Tuesday 3 May 2022

Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, today I pay tribute to Joan Margaret Green OAM, who recently passed away at the age of 98 years. Joan was a foundation member of the National Trust of Australia branch in Tasmania in 1960, along with her husband Dick Green and Mrs Biddy Craig. This organisation, as we know, has grown to look after many properties and places across the state and is now run by a dedicated team of employees and volunteers. Franklin House and Clarendon House in northern Tasmania are two wonderful examples of what Joan was able to achieve through her time working with the National Trust, nurturing the interest and enthusiasm of volunteers dedicated to the cause of heritage preservation.

Joan was born in Launceston and was educated at the Methodist Ladies College, now Scotch Oakburn College, where she excelled in her studies and played various team sports. Joan was particularly fond of, and proficient at, golf, and won 11 championship titles in 1949. She captained the women's golf team in the Women's Australian Golf Championships held in Brisbane in 1951. Joan's love and interest in golf was fostered by her parents, Walter and Dorothy Manson, with whom she started playing golf at 11 years of age.

Joan and Richard Green - better known as 'Dick' - were married in 1951, had six children, raising them at their home in York Street, Launceston, where Joan lived until she was 97 years old.

For over 50 years, Joan was an active member and volunteer for the National Trust, so members will not be surprised to hear she was awarded the Order of Australia medal in 2014 for her service to the community. This was particularly through the heritage and conservation of historic properties. In that same year, Joan was presented with the Launceston City Council Citizen of the Year award.

Joan's accomplishments and legacies go beyond her work with the National Trust, however. The Dick & Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History was established in 2016 to commemorate their contribution to Tasmanian culture and history. The award recognises high quality published work that makes a significant contribution to an understanding of Tasmania's past, and seeks to celebrate and promote books of Tasmanian history and cultural heritage, including biographies and historical fiction. Moreover, even after Dick's passing in 1986, Joan continued to work with and contribute to a number of organisations that support our communities. The Tasmanian branch of the Australiana Fund, an independent fundraising body to acquire a national collection of historic artworks, also benefitted from Joan's time, expertise, and dedication over the past decades. The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Committee of the Order of Australia Association (Northern Region) were also organisations about which Joan was passionate and worked with for a number of years.

In an article in The Examiner newspaper on Wednesday 30 March, Joan's daughter Caroline Johnston described her mother as loyal to her values and to the people around her, saying,"Dad was a local councillor and Mayor of Launceston in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Mum was a committed Mayoress, fully supportive of him and very proud of the way she supported her husband in those endeavours."

Mr President, we can all agree with that sentiment. Joan Green was not just a dedicated mother and wife, but was also strongly connected with her community and gave much of herself, her time, and her wisdom to preserving and promoting it. Joan leaves behind a wonderful legacy of which she could be extremely proud. Simply by virtue of her work with the National Trust, we have all gained something: the protection of our history and culture.

Vale Joan Margaret Green OAM.