Margaret joined the Newcastle branch of Socialist Alliance when it formed in the early 2000. She told us she had finally ended her search to find and join a party.
Margaret had been a member of the Communist Party of Australia, before it dissolved.
Her funeral was held at St Kevin鈥檚 in Cardiff, where she was a long-time parishioner, including during the time when Father Terry O鈥橞rien was a parish priest there in the 1970s. He聽was frequently in strife with the local Catholic hierarchy for supporting the 鈥減referential option for the poor鈥.
Among the projects which the parish, and Margaret, supported was practical aid for oppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The writings of Dorothy Day helped take Margaret in a socialist direction. Day founded the Catholic Worker Movement and organised non-violent direct action in support of the poor and homeless in the United States.
As part of her activism, informed by Marxism and liberation theology, Margaret travelled to East Timor, visited refugees in the Villawood Detention Centre and was involved in the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and Christians for Peace.
Margaret made a huge effort in her final years聽to attend meetings and protests, often wearing her crucifix and a cap emblazoned with a red star.
She donated generously to 91自拍论坛, Socialist Alliance and refugee organisations.
Embroidery, writing and counselling were among her many talents, with poetry being her standout.
Niko Leka鈥檚 introduction in her book of poetry, A String of Pearls, reads: 鈥淓ach of these poems is a pearl. Precious, priceless, that both conceals and reveals an intensely personal and yet universal world鈥.
Below is one of our favourites.
Cleaning Up
I washed my thoughts,
Hung them out to dry
On the washing line
Of a new perspective.
I sent my attitudes
To the dry cleaners
For stain removal
By experts.
I vacuum cleaned
The recesses of my soul
Sucking up the dust:
Old hurts, hidden resentments.
The beauty laid bare surprised me.
Under the grime
A person I had glimpsed
Only in dreams.
Our condolences to Margaret鈥檚 husband Max聽and their two daughters.