Farewell to a wilderness warrior

Di Horsburgh, our much-loved Community Campaigner, at Walmadan Camp in Western Australia's Kimberley region. August, 2011.

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Di Horsburgh, the Wilderness Society's much-loved Cairns-based Community Campaigner.

Di passed away on Saturday 6 October, surrounded by family and friends in her rainforest home, after a short battle with cancer.

Di was a warrior for wilderness, particularly her beloved far north Queensland. She was a striking, fearless campaigner who cared deeply and passionately for the planet, and held an unshakable belief in the power of people to make change.

Di's legacy at the Wilderness Society will be her tireless work on a variety of campaigns and causes. In the 1990s, Di played a central role in the campaign to stop construction of a mega-resort on the doorstep of Hinchinbrook Island, within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Di helped to organise a blockade of the site and she loved HInchinbrook dearly.

In more recent years, Di has been working to grow community support for the conservation of Queensland's Cape York Peninsula, a place very close to her heart. She'll also be remembered for her efforts to ensure that grassroots, community-based campaigning remains at the heart of our organisation, and for her commitment to the close-knit Wilderness Society team in Queensland.

Di made a lasting impression on all who met her, and her generous, sometimes frank and feisty, contribution to our campaigns and to the broader movement will not be forgotten.

Farewell Di and thank you for everything you did for the Wilderness Society and for our planet.

We'll miss you.

Messages of condolence

If you knew Di and wish to send a message of condolence, you can share your thoughts on her Facebook page or email them to us so we can compile them before passing them on to her family.