Born in
Unley, South Australia, on 30 July 1913, Blight was educated at
Brisbane State High School. During the
Great Depression in Australia he tramped the Queensland outback looking for work. During the 1930s he undertook correspondence studies and attained his Chartered Accountancy Diploma, whereby in 1939 he found paid employment in
Bundaberg, Queensland. Following his wartime years spent in Canberra as an Inspector with the Government's Prices Regulatory Department, he became a part-owner of timber mills in the
Gympie region. He took up full-time writing in 1973. In 1987 he was awarded the Order Of Australia Medal (AM) for his contribution to Literature and Education. Blight received numerous awards, including the Dame Mary Gilmore Medal,
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry, The Patrick White Literary Award and the
Christopher Brennan Award. He died on 12 May 1995 in Brisbane, Queensland, being survived by his wife, Beverley Madeline D'Arcy-Irvine and their two daughters, Katrina and Robyn. John Blight's papers are held in the Fryer Library at The University of Queensland. == Bibliography ==