Dorothy Hewett

Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright. She was also a member of the Communist Party of Australia, though she clashed on many occasions with the party's leadership.
Hewett was born in Perth and was brought up on a sheep and wheat farm near Wickepin in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. She was initially educated at home and through correspondence courses. From the age of 15 she attended Perth College, which was run by Anglican nuns. Hewett was an atheist, remaining so all her life.
In 1944 Hewett began studying English at the University of Western Australia (UWA). It was here that she joined the Communist Party in 1946. Also during her time at UWA she won a major drama competition and a national poetry competition.
In 1944 she married communist lawyer Lloyd Davies and had a son who died of leukaemia at age three. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948, following Hewett's departure to Sydney to live with Les Flood, a boilermaker, to who she three sons over nine years. During this period Hewett wrote very little however, the time she spent working in a clothing factory did inform some of her most famous works.