OBITUARY
AUSIT member Sarah Jane Walls lost her battle with a lengthy and progressively debilitating illness on 1 June. Her friend and colleague, AUSIT past president Yveline Piller, tells us a little about this remarkable woman’s life.
I met Sarah in around 2004, at an AUSIT picnic on Sydney’s North Shore. Her friendliness and thoughtfulness were evident straight away. At the time, I did not realise the significance of the walking stick she was using.
Sarah had recently passed the NAATI test for French-into-English translation. Previously a journalist, she had had to forego her long career with the ABC and other media after a medical error left her with a progressive and devastating condition which damaged her nervous system, including her mobility. Sarah had taken the matter to court but had been unsuccessful, and as this had depleted her savings she was on Centrelink benefits, and hoping to gain a new source of income through her language skills. I introduced her to some of the agencies I was working with, and she soon had enough work.
Becoming appreciated and valued as a professional translator was a significant turning point in Sarah’s life. Thanks to the changes the internet had – very recently – brought to our methods of work, she was able to find clients and provide her translation services without them becoming aware of her condition, as would have inevitably happened with client-facing contact. This would almost certainly have exposed Sarah to both pity and discrimination, plus she would have found herself repeatedly having to explain her condition. Working remotely put her on a level playing field with other translators, and the appreciation and respect she gained for her work was entirely due to her professional skills.
Some months after we met, Sarah asked me to visit her. She very proudly showed me some painting work she had been able to afford on her house, and just as proudly told me she had called Centrelink to tell them she no longer needed benefits.
The eldest of six children, Sarah was born and raised in Albury. She was highly intelligent and, as her sisters remember, as a child she always had her nose in a book. She lost her mother at the age of seven and her father at 14, and also a sister a few years later. Fortunately, she developed a very close relationship with her stepmother, which she maintained till the end.
After gaining a first-class honours degree in French and studying law for three years, Sarah spent time in the UK and visited other countries, including France and Morocco. She worked for 15 years for major media services, such as the BBC World Service, The Australian, the ABC’s Four Corners, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. In 1983, Sarah was awarded a gold citation in the Media Peace Prize, a peace program of the United Nations Association of Australia, for her articles on the danger of nuclear conflict.
Sarah’s fluency in French took her to New Caledonia, where she covered political issues for two years. On 4 May 1989, while reporting on a minor event, she had a very dramatic experience: she was standing right next to pro-independence Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou and his deputy when they were shot dead by a radical opponent.
Sarah was generous with her skills and knowledge, and gave back to AUSIT in many ways. Colleagues on the French Forum remember her valuable responses to questions on obscure phrases or abbreviations, and her generosity in helping newcomers. Sarah also developed very good research techniques, which she shared with other AUSIT members in a well-regarded professional development session. And putting her background in journalism to use, she helped me to prepare for an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald when I became AUSIT’s president. More recently, Sarah volunteered her services as a proofreader for In Touch. She was also my proofreader of choice when my English translations needed a keen eye and better turn of phrase.
Utilising the expertise she acquired in bringing her case of medical malpractice before the courts, Sarah specialised in legal and medical translations. She was resourceful, finding many of her clients through her prior contacts in New Caledonia.
Sarah only stopped translating two years ago, when the condition of her hands no longer allowed her to type.
Sarah was interested in all kinds of topics, including politics, overseas events and social issues. She loved classical music, and earlier in life had been a very capable pianist. She loved to practise meditation and yoga, and this helped relieve some of the pain she constantly suffered.
She was also very fond of the two cats who, one after the other, kept her company over the years. One day, while attempting to feed her cat, Sarah’s decreased flexibility caused her to slip and she broke her leg.
Unable to regain full mobility, she had to start using a wheelchair – much to her dismay, as she was well aware of the many medical and other complications experienced by wheelchair users. She moved to a house in Dulwich Hill which she had modified to be wheelchair friendly, and gained supportive neighbours – whenever I visited, there was always someone there to help her or keep her company.
For several years, Sarah managed her difficult situation well – finding a string of kind students who, in return for low rent, lived in her spare bedroom and helped with some chores. Later, she was supported around the clock by a bevy of NDIS carers, who all seemed very dedicated to her. In her last few weeks, her sisters came to attend to her needs until she moved into palliative care.
With her keen emotional intelligence, Sarah was kind, showed empathy and never complained. Her calm and quiet demeanour came with a great ability to listen, and to understand not only what was said, but also what was not said. Conversing with her was always smooth and easy, given the range of topics she was interested in and her non-judgmental ability to discuss all angles. Her quiet resilience was evident in the fact that she never showed bitterness at the many challenges she had to face.
Four years ago Sarah found a breast tumour, but decided she did not want to have treatment for it, as she was already suffering relentless pain from her other conditions.
To the end of her life, Sarah advocated for a no-fault patient compensation scheme for medical negligence causing trauma and lifelong injuries. She organised a petition which collected 16,000 signatures to interest politicians in the issue, and when I visited her for the last time – despite being bedridden and with no expectation of improvement – she was dictating an email to her sister on this very subject, to be sent to a political figure.
Sarah had just turned 71 when she died on 1 June 2024.
We will miss her.
