Dusting off Mr White

Updated November 8 2012 - 4:54pm, first published July 25 2008 - 1:56pm

Three erudite provocateurs had jolted the Australia I returned to in 1975 out of its complacency. Progressive Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam was one, brilliant conservative satirist Barry Humphries another. I admired them both. The third man was writer Patrick White. We would meet and collaborate for over a decade, and our friendship would last until his passing. Nobel laureate, ex-army officer and sometime Tiresius of the suburbs , Patrick created a distinctive Australian voice, and his faith in what he called perpetual becoming offered another way of seeing the world.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Canberra news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.