2026-09-10
Robin Chapple, former Greens MLC for Pastoral and Mining remembers two impressive women he worked with for many years: Pat Lowe and Dee Margetts
Pat Lowe
I wanted to share a few personal reflections from Saturday, 5 September, when I travelled out to Djugerari for the funeral of our dear friend Pat Lowe, the doyen of Kimberley greenness and one of the region’s most steadfast voices for Country.
Djugerari is a small Aboriginal community deep in the desert, about 750 kilometres round‑trip from Derby, reached by the Great Northern Highway and then the long, unsealed stretch of Cherrabun Road. The journey itself felt like part of the ceremony ‒ that familiar shift from the world of bitumen into the quiet, red‑earth country that Pat loved so deeply.
The funeral was small but profoundly moving. Friends came from across Australia and overseas, each carrying their own memories of Pat’s gentleness, her fierce intelligence, and her unwavering commitment to people and place. She was laid to rest beside her husband, Jimmy Pike, completing a circle that began decades ago in the desert. It was also a joy to catch up with Christabel Chamarette, our former Senator, who had travelled all the way from Paris to be with Pat at her internment.
Pat Lowe (1942–2026) was an English‑born psychologist, naturalist, and author who became one of the Kimberley’s most important storytellers and environmental defenders. Her writing documented Walmajarri culture, desert life, and her extraordinary partnership with Jimmy. After Jimmy’s release from Fremantle Prison, she moved with him to the Kimberley. Jimmy told her that if she was going to be his wife, she needed to learn the cultural way ‒ so he took her out to Kurlku, a remote camp in the Great Sandy Desert, where they lived for three years before returning to Broome.
She learned Walmajarri language ‒ close to Pintupi, which I speak ‒ along with desert survival and the cultural knowledge of Jimmy’s family. She was also a co‑founder of Environs Kimberley in the mid‑1990s, a leader in the resistance to the Fitzroy River mega‑cotton proposal, and a key ally in our long fight against the Woodside gas hub at James Price Point.
On a personal note, Pat was known for her precision with grammar. She corrected many of my media releases over the years, ensuring they were expressed in proper English ‒ a kindness she delivered with her usual gentle humour.
Robin Chapple took the below photo from the funeral at Djugerari. It captures the quiet beauty of the day and the deep sense of respect felt by everyone present.
Read more about Pat Lowe and her publications in this obituary from Martin Pritchard, Environs Kimberley: https://www.environskimberley.org.au/vale_pat
Dee Margetts
It is with deep sadness that I mark the passing of my friend and colleague Dee Margetts ‒ a woman of conviction, courage, and relentless commitment to social justice, peace and environmental protection. Dee’s public life was extraordinary. Born in Fremantle in 1955, she became one of the early pillars of the Greens (WA), emerging from the peace and anti-nuclear movement where she served as Coordinator for People for Nuclear Disarmament from 1988 to 1991. She entered federal politics in 1993, elected as a Senator for Western Australia, serving until 1999 and frequently holding the balance of power alongside Christabel Chamarette during the mid 1990s. Dee later continued her public service in the Western Australian Legislative Council, representing the Agricultural Region from 2001 to 2005. But beyond her parliamentary record, I will always remember the years we spent working side by side at 1074 Hay Street, just across from Parliament House. Sharing that office with Dee was a privilege. She was sharp, funny, fiercely principled, and utterly dedicated to the people and causes she represented. Our little corner at 1074 was a hive of ideas, debates, and the occasional late night chaos ‒ but always driven by Dee’s unwavering belief that politics should serve the public good.
Her intellect was formidable, her activism tireless and her friendship generous. Western Australia has lost a true advocate, and many of us have lost someone we deeply admired.
Vale Dee. Thank you for your service, your friendship and the countless ways you helped shape a better world.
For more on Dee Margetts: https://biography.senate.gov.au/margetts-diane-elizabeth/
Header photo: Pat Lowe in mammal trapping excursion Mornington Station Maria Mann, and Dee Margetts speaking in the Senate.