Vale: Joan Ambrose

WA Screenwriter, playwright and radio writer Joan Ambrose, best known for Black Beauty, Ginger Meggs and Blinky Bill has died.

She passed away last week according to the Australian Writers’ Guild.

Joan was a Life Member of the Guild and was awarded the Richard Lane Award in 1994 by the National Executive Council in recognition of her long-standing service.

Over many years, Joan represented Western Australian members on a national level, advancing opportunities and conditions for fellow writers.

Born in 1934, Joan moved to various country towns with her parents, who were primary school teachers. She spent her childhood wandering through nature reserves and pressing wildflowers in heavy books. Her love of gardens and nature continued throughout her life.

After high school, Joan attended secretarial college and gained work in a law firm. At night, she studied for her teaching certificate, where she met Berry, who she married in 1954. They were married for 68 years (pictured).

When their children, Elizabeth, Helen and Simon, began primary school, Joan devoted time to her writing career, starting with small ABC contracts to develop radio plays. These projects evolved into significant and ongoing engagements. Over two decades, Joan honed her skills and expanded her repertoire, developing plays for theatre and writing for film and television.

Her TV credits include The New Adventures of Black Beauty, Kicking Around, Falcon Island, but other works included Maia, The Alien, Radio Quartet: A Collection of Radio Plays, The Outsider, Three O’Clock Farewell and No Visitors Please.

Throughout her career, Joan collaborated closely with writers, producers and editors here in Australia and internationally. She contributed to screen adaptations of Blinky Bill and Ginger Meggs and spent some time working in Hungary.