Plumb, Gwendoline Jean (Gwen) (1912 - 2002)

Gwendoline (commonly known as Gwen) Plumb was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) on 13 June 1993 for services to the entertainment industry [1]. On 1 January 1973 she was appointed Order of the British Empire (Civil) for service to the community and charities.

During a career that spanned six decades, Gwen Plumb featured in radio, television and stage productions. She played Emmie in the ABC radio serial Blue Hills and also was a radio presenter for Radio 2GB. She played Ada Simmonds in the television series The Young Doctors, and featured in Richmond Hill and Harp in the South.

During World War II, Plumb joined the Australian Women's Land Army and worked in cherry-picking as part of the war effort when many men were called to service [2]. One of the founding members of the Belvoir Street Theatre (Sydney), she starred in the first Australian production of Steaming in 1983.

In 1993 Plumb announced her retirement at a reunion of the Independent Theatre. She passed away at her home at Kirribilli on 5 June 2002.

Related Corporate Bodies

• Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA) (1942 - 1945)

Newspaper Articles

• 'Plumb lines of excellence', West Australian, 4 July 2002, p. 43. [ Details... ]
• 'Plumb Crazy all these years', Sydney Morning Herald, 6 June 2002, p. 28. [ Details... ]
• Fisher, Rodney, 'Vivid vaudevillian', Australian, Time & Tide, 11 June 2002, p. 10. [ Details... ]

See also

• Lane, Richard, The golden age of Australian radio drama 1923-1960 : a history through biography, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Vic., 1994, 397 pp. [ Details... ]