Barnett, June H.

Description

Agent TypePersonIdentifierUMA-AG-000001560Place of Birth7 Cherry Road, Balwyn, VictoriaPlace of DeathCanberraActivities & OccupationsDiplomatsGenderFemaleHistoryJune Hyett Barnett was born on 19 February 1920 in Balwyn, Victoria. She was the youngest daughter of Frederick Oswald Barnett, a social reformer who recorded the poverty facing many in the Melbourne slums of the 1930s and campaigned for improvement in housing conditions.

June attended Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne before joining the RAAF in the late 1930s to serve at Mt Lawley in Western Australia. At about this time she also joined the Australian Communist Party from which she resigned when she joined the Diplomatic Service in Canberra as a cadet in 1948. June attended the University of Melbourne between 1938 and 1947, studying history, politics, economic geography, industrial organisation, French, science, philosophy and English. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in May 1947. She was a strong advocate for women in the public service and her diplomatic career scanned 30 years during which she represented Australia on several overseas postings. She retired in 1978.

June's life-long partner was Kay Keightley, a former nurse who worked with Indigenous people in leprosariumas. June died in April 2002 in Canberra.

Accession

Dates

Date19 February 1920-2002

Names

Given NameJuneMiddle NameHyettFamily NameBarnett

Professional Relationships

Member of OrganisationCommunist Party of Australia

University of Melbourne Archives

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Barnett, June H.