Bob Hawke’s widow Blanche D’Alpuget dies aged 82: Her final message for Australia
Blanche D'Alpuget, the author and widow of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, has died aged 82. Her family shared a final message on her behalf, calling on Australians to embrace love as life's highest calling, marking the death of a prominent literary figure closely tied to one of the country's most significant political dynasties.
D'Alpuget was an award-winning author who married Hawke, Australia's longest-serving Labor prime minister, having previously written his biography. Her death comes seven years after Hawke's own death. She is survived by her son Louis Pratt, from her first marriage to diplomat and journalist Tony Pratt, as well as three step-children and several step-grandchildren.
- Blanche D'Alpuget, Bob Hawke's widow, has died aged 82.
- Her final message urged Australians to "love one another".
- She is survived by her son, three step-children and step-grandchildren.
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Blanche D'Alpuget was an Australian author known for her novels and biographies, including an acclaimed life of Bob Hawke, the Labor politician who served as prime minister from 1983 to 1991 and remains Australia's longest-serving Labor leader. She and Hawke began a relationship while he was still married to his first wife, Hazel, and the pair eventually married in 1995 after his political career had ended.
Hawke died in 2019, and was widely regarded as one of the most consequential figures in modern Australian politics, credited with major economic reforms during his time in office. D'Alpuget continued writing and remained a public figure associated with his legacy in the years after his death.
She is survived by her son from an earlier marriage, along with several step-children and step-grandchildren from her marriage to Hawke, linking her family to one of the best-known names in Australian public life.