Denis Kevans

Life

Kevans was born Peter Denis Kevans in WestlakeCanberra on 15 January, 1939. His mother, Mona Knight, was the daughter of Alfred Knight of no. 1 Westlake (it was probably this cottage where he lived at Westlake). Today the site of Alf's home is a memorial to the families who lived in the area - it is located close to the grounds of the Mexican Embassy in Yarralumla. The sites of the majority of Westlake Cottages (1924-1965) are in the grounds of the nearby Stirling Park Yarralumla.(Ref: Westlake One of the Vanished Suburbs of Canberra - Gugler.) Denis attended St Christopher's Convent School at Manuka. He won a scholarship to St Josephs College in Sydney, where he played for the first XI and the much celebrated first XV of 1956. As of 2016, Denis has an unbeaten sporting record at the school. Upon leaving St. Joseph's College he had continued success as a cricketer, being selected by Sir Robert Menzies for the Prime Minister's XI, which played the touring English team in 1958. Whilst initially studying medicine, at his father's urging for him to become a writer, he switched courses to complete a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education and a Master of Arts in Australian Literature at Sydney University, while working on building sites and becoming a member of the NSW Builders Labourers Federation. Kevans became active in pro-peace political and cultural movements, including the Realist Writers Group associated with the Bush Music Club. He wrote witty and insightful poems and original songs on a wide variety of political topics, published several books and two CDs. He received a number of poetry awards during his lifetime. A bushland reserve located on the corner of Armstrong St and Valley Rd in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia has posthumously been dedicated to his memory ... the "Denis Kevans Bushland Gardens".

Recognition

A concert in honour of Kevans, planned to be an annual event, is to be held on Anzac Day Eve, 24 April 2009 [1].