Blanche d’Alpuget, widow of former Australian PM Bob Hawke, dies at 82

Australian writer and widow of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Blanche d’Alpuget, has died at the age of 82 from complications related to influenza.

In a final message to the public, d’Alpuget said, “Our highest calling and greatest achievement is love, the rule of life. Love one another.”

Her family said she lived exactly as she wished and never allowed herself to be defined by the expectations of others.

They remembered her as a woman of energy, kindness and curiosity, with a deep appreciation for beauty, ideas, history and meaningful conversation. They said they would miss her strength, humour, curiosity and love tremendously.

D’Alpuget and Hawke shared what her family described as a great love for nearly 24 years. They married in 1995 and remained together until Hawke died in 2019 at the age of 89.

Born in Sydney, d’Alpuget lived in England, France, Indonesia and Malaysia before establishing herself as a successful author and biographer. She published more than a dozen books during her career.

Her best-known work was her 1982 biography of Hawke, which won the New South Wales Premier’s Award and became a bestseller.

D’Alpuget and Hawke first met in the 1970s and began their relationship while he was still married to his first wife, Hazel. She later became closely associated with his political legacy through her writing about his life and career.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned her death, describing her as a “true original.”

He praised her talent as both a fiction and non-fiction writer, saying her novels were compelling while her biographies were thorough and definitive.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas also paid tribute, describing d’Alpuget as a woman of “great intellect, warmth and presence.” He noted that she remained a devoted custodian of Hawke’s legacy following his death.

D’Alpuget is survived by her son, Louis Pratt, an artist and sculptor, his wife Brianna and their daughter, Sienna.

She is also survived by Hawke’s children, Sue Pieters-Hawke, Rosslyn Dillon and Stephen Hawke, as well as their children and grandchildren, with whom she was close.

Political historian Professor Chris Wallace recalled that the late Labor minister Susan Ryan once described d’Alpuget as a woman who was “full of fun.”