Judith Wright was an Australian poet, literary critic, and short-story writer with over 50 published books. She was also a much-respected environmentalist and an aboriginal land rights activist. Her literary works often focused on the themes of environment and the relationship between humans and the environment. The daughter of a prominent pastoralist and philanthropist, she was fortunate to receive a good education, a privilege available only to a few young women of her time. After completing her education, she began working at the University of Queensland. She had also started publishing her works by then. Over the years, she gained much prominence as a poet and short-story writer and received several accolades, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, for her literary contributions to society. She always harbored a deep interest in environment and conservation and was a founding member of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. She was well known for actively supporting the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef and Fraser Island. She was involved in the aboriginal land rights movement as well and was a good friend of aboriginal poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal. She was married to abstract philosopher Jack McKinney and had one daughter.