Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to Northern Tasmania's Mary Dent, who passed away recently at the age of 92. Born Sheila Mary Wilson in Birmingham, England, in 1929, Mary migrated with her family to Tasmania in 1931. She attended West Launceston Primary School and then went on to Broadland House as a boarder during World War II.

At the age of 17, Mary began work at the Launceston public library, in the old Mechanics Institute building, and it was Wal Sutherland, an assistant librarian, who saw Mary's promise and encouraged her to undertake training at Sydney public library. This training set Mary on a career spanning more than 40 years, where she developed a particular passion for local history and was a source of vital support and guidance to history researchers as well as many visiting scholars who were drawn to the Launceston library by its rich collection of rare Australian books. Mary was a fierce defender of the library's local history collection, ensuring that the remarkable legacy created by the city for the city was carried on under her watch.

More than 20 years after starting her career and undertaking various roles in the library, Mary gained her full professional qualifications in 1981 before retiring in 1988. Recognised as someone who was loyal to her principles and to the goals of her profession, the fields in which Mary worked are the richer for her contribution over many decades. Vale, Mary Dent.