Children's rights campaigner Barbara Holborow dies, aged 81
.. just heard an old interview with one wonderful woman who was very clearly clinically sane ..
From: The Australian May 23, 2012 12:47PM
Former Children's magistrate and long time youth campaigner Barbara Holborow has died. .. Play .. 0:31 [embedded]
CHILDREN'S rights campaigner and former NSW magistrate Barbara Holborow has died.
Her close friend Father Chris Riley, from Youth Off The Streets, said Ms Holborow died on Wednesday morning after a long illness.
She fought until the end but her condition took a sudden turn, he said.
"She said she was as stubborn as they come," he told the Fairfax Radio Network.
"She was up and about when I saw her last Wednesday, (but on) Sunday she was in great distress and ... today she found peace."
Father Riley said her lasting legacy would be her commitment to children's rights.
Ms Holborow, who was 81, had been diagnosed with a tumour in January.
She served as a magistrate in NSW for 12 years and, after retiring from the bench in 1994, became involved in setting up free legal aid for children.
She also helped establish a care court dealing with cases of neglect, and a special jail for first-time offenders aged 18 to 25.
She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community and was named this year's NSW Senior Australian of the Year.
Known as 'the children's champion'', Ms Holborow studied to be a lawyer while working as a single mother, and was 39 when she graduated as a solicitor.
Her friend Carol Harkin told ABC Radio Ms Holborow believed every child was the responsibility of the community.
''She always maintained, much to the chagrin sometimes of the hierarchy of the magistracy, in order to be a Children's Court magistrate you also had to be part-social worker,'' she said.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott paid tribute to Ms Holborow.
''Obviously she was widely respected and she was much admired,'' he told Macquarie Radio.
''She had a lot of supporters and friends and admirers and it's sad that we've lost her.''
Ms Holborow is survived by her daughter Louise, her adopted son Jacob, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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