Winmalee resident Rosemary Baldry received the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW NSW) Distinguished Service Award (DSA) in Sydney on November 2.
Rosemary joined the Blue Mountains branch of FAW NSW in 2004 and in the following year took up the position of treasurer and membership secretary. She has served on the committee for more than 14 years. Whenever the need arose, she took on additional roles of secretary, organising guest speakers, meeting agendas and a myriad of other tasks to keep the writing group running.
As an active member, Rosemary has contributed by sharing her prose, encouraging the writing of others with constructive feedback and by being a welcoming presence to newcomers.
The FAW NSW was formed in 1928 and aims to encourage, educate and support Australian writers. Famous members include Miles Franklin, Dorothea MacKellar, Frank Clune and Pixie O'Harris. Many competitions are run each year and are open to all ages from young writers to seniors, addressing many genres including short stories and poetry. There are 27 branches of FAW in NSW and interstate branches in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland.
There have been fewer than 60 recipients of the DSA in the 90 year history of the fellowship. Previous DSA recipients from the Blue Mountains branch include Pat Allen, Margaret Wilkinson, the late Beryl Dundas and the late Irene Acland.
