Shirley (centre) receives her Life Membership from then ABC Friends Vic president Michael Henry with Rosie (right).

Rosie Spear, long-time activist ABC friend, reflects on the loss of one of our life members and one of her earliest colleagues.

Shirley Parkes was a passionate, tireless and creative volunteer for ABC Friends and a member of the Victorian State Committee for a time. She joined in 1996 along with hundreds of others who were horrified when the Liberal Government cut funding and established an inquiry into the role and scope of the ABC.

In those early days of a resurgence of concern for the ABC and subsequent increase in public support for the Friends, she worked with many other volunteers sorting the letters and money pouring in from worried citizens.

From there Shirley went on to organising many stalls - the “queen of stalls”-  helping to organise and run a ten-day stall at the Royal Melbourne Show for example, answering phones, stuffing envelopes, handing out flyers, writing letters, visiting MPs, helping organise rallies and a myriad of other campaigning and fund-raising activities.

Shirley also put her creative skills into sewing special tablecloths for stalls and bags for handing out flyers. She also designed and made a donations box, window decals, developed campaign material and even designed a portable stall which we had made by a carpenter and used many times in the Bourke Street Mall.

Shirley was a fearless defender of the ABC. On one occasion, after handing Michael Kroger a “Save the ABC” flyer, he threatened that he would get rid of the ABC altogether! A heated discussion followed. Another in her sights was Richard Alston, Communications Minister in the Howard Government, who frequently attacked the ABC, claiming it was biased.

As a mark of recognition for Shirley’s huge contribution over twenty-five years to ABC Friends, she received an Honorary Life Membership Award in 2022. Shirley died on 16th September 2026.

Rosie Spear, Volunteer Coordinator, ABC Friends Victorian Committee of Management