Gary Hughes takes the gold walkley for his personal accounts of surviving bushfires
Moving personal account of Black Saturday wins Gold Walkley for Gary Hughes
He lost three Walkley trophies when the Black Saturday bushfires destroyed his Kinglake home, but now The Australian’s Gary Hughes’ trophy case will be groaning after he took out the 2009 Gold Walkley and Best Print News Report for his accounts of the disaster.
Hours after watching his house and his family’s possessions destroyed, Hughes borrowed a laptop and composed a vivid, dramatic and moving account of surviving the bushfire, a story which was read by millions around the world. Hughes’ winning package of stories also included his report of returning with his family to what remained of their home.
The Walkley Advisory Board judges said Hughes’ work “brought tears to our eyes”.
“For someone to nearly lose their life, their family, everything they own and then file a story like that – that’s what print journalism is all about.”
While Hughes was unable to attend the ceremony, his wife Janice and daughter Kirsty graciously accepted the awards on his behalf and a pre-recorded video message expressed his gratitude. The Hughes family were also presented with three Walkley trophies to replace those Hughes had lost to the bushfires.
The Australian’s photographer, Renee Nowytarger, was named Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year for a body of work which the judges praised as “rounded and versatile”.
Her stand-out photograph of an exhausted Malcolm Turnbull was singled out for especial praise.
Awards were presented in 33 categories. After an initial round of judging by three-person peer juries who chose the three finalists in each category, the Walkley Advisory Board selected the winner of each award. The board aslso selected the winners for the Gold Walkley and the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership, won this year by Michael McKinnon for his outstanding work in the cause of freedom of information over more than two decades.
The Walkley Trustees awarded the Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism to the former Sydney Morning Herald journalist Tony Stephens who retired last year after more than 50 years in journalism. The Trustees said Stephens was recognised for the skill and dedication of his work, and his generous support as a mentor to other journalists.
More than 900 journalists and media identities gathered at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney for the gala event, hosted by SBS World News Australia’s Anton Enus and Annabel Crabb, formerly of the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Walkley Awards, administered by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, have a proud history of celebrating the year’s winning stories and images. The awards were established in 1956 by Sir William Gaston Walkley, founder of Ampol Australia.
Read tributes to all the 2009 Walkley winners here.
Download a PDF press release and full list of winners here.
