About Us
In Memoriam
Donald & Sylvia Dyer
Donald Dyer, founder of the Public Relations Institute of Australia in South Australia.
Donald Dyer was the first public relations director for the Adelaide Children's Hospital more than half a century ago. Remarkably, he is still remembered for his work in developing the auxiliaries which continue to raise funds and promote the hospital throughout the State.
At his own expense Donald visited Melbourne and Sydney to learn about the fledgling Public Relations Institute. The following year, the PRIA (SA) was established with Donald as its Founding President. He also helped set up the Institute in the Northern Territory.
Over many years Donald and Sylvia committed both time and money turning a fragmented industry into a profession. In addition to serving in various elected positions for the State Institute for close to 30 years, Donald helped found the PRIA national body and became National President in 1962.
Donald Dyer's contributions to the profession resulting in his receiving an MBE.
Sylvia Dyer was not formally a member of the PRIA but was bestowed with PRIA Life Membership for her major fund-raising, community care and organisational support roles at state and national levels. Among her notable contributions on behalf of the PRIA was her work in establishing the highly successful Sudden Infant Death Research Foundation in SA.
PRIA and the University of South Australia offer a the Donald Dyer Scholarship in memory of Donald which is made possible by a generous bequest from the estate of the late Sylvia Dyer, the scholarship offers the opportunity to further develop advanced research in PR, normally at a PhD level.
John Flower
John M Flower LLD FPRIA - 31 December 1929 - 19 August 2007
The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) loses an eminent public relations practitioner and long-time supporter of the profession. John's passing follows a short illness. He leaves behind his partner Eva Light. Our thoughts and best wishes go to Eva.
John joined the PRIA in 1954. His friend and employer, Alfred Heintz introduced him to the public relations industry on his first day on the job. “I haven’t told you before, but I am the secretary of the PRIA in Victoria. I have the title; you do the work”.
From that beginning John automatically / compulsorily become secretary of the Victorian branch and is the only member in PRIA history to have served as National President twice, in 1968 and again in 1982. He was elevated to Fellow in 1971 and then Life Fellow in 2003, the highest honour that can be awarded to a public relations practitioner. He was instrumental in establishing the RMIT PR course and remained an active servant to the Institute and our profession throughout his life.
John’s working career began in 1954 with Albert Heinz and then another small PR consultancy where he was advised to look for a larger organization to gain broader experience.
John joined the Petroleum Information Bureau as it was known then and towards the end of 1957 was made Deputy Director of the NSW Bureau. John worked in Sydney and Adelaide succeeding the late Dudley Pilcher as Director of PIB from late 1968 until it was absorbed into the Australian Institute of Petroleum in 1976.
In 1993 John’s career took another turn when he was accepted by Deakin University for their Law course, which was available on a part time basis in Melbourne. After six years study with four subjects per year, John completed the course in 1999 and graduated with an LLB after his name.
John had a keen interest in improving the Australian Constitution (even imperceptibly) but he knew that no one would take any notice of anything he wrote on the subject without the qualifications to back it up.
At that point John’s health had begun to fail, however he continued with his many interests including the constitution, and the PR industry.
In recognition of his significant contributions, PRIA Victoria recently announced the John Flower Corporate Communication Award. The award will be presented annually to the best corporate campaign.
We would like to thank John’s good friend Gordon Holland for keeping the Institute informed of his progress right up to the end.
For more than half a century John inspired, led, disagreed with, corrected, gently cajoled and, most memorably, splendidly laughed with so many of us.
Noel Griffiths
Noel Griffiths was the PRIA's Foundation President in 1952. His pioneering work has been honoured for many years by the Noel Griffiths Lecture.
Shan Hoskyns
Shan was President of PRIA National from 1970 to 1971. He ran a successful consultancy in Adelaide (Shan Hoskyns & Associates).
Shan was a member of the Society of Friends, a man of high integrity and was respected in our profession.
Peter Ireland
Peter Ireland was an outstanding communicator. After a long battle with multiple sclerosis, he died on 22nd October 2006 aged only 50.
One of the earliest graduates of the UTS Communication bachelors' degree, Peter joined the PRIA as a student member, was active in some of its committees and worked at Professional Public Relations for seven years after his graduation. In his youth, Peter acquired something of a reputation for long hair, guitar playing and sartorial elegance. His brother Chris spoke at a memorial celebration of Peter's life, referring to Peter as a "cool dude", a "teenage Lothario" who liked a drink and was "good with the ladies".
Understandably, with this background and his dedication to the profession, Peter made rapid progress as a consultant. He became a specialist in rural communication and headed PPR's agricultural division, where he managed successful programs for the cotton industry, the leather tanning industry and the wheat growers of NSW.
Passionate about his work, Peter won several Golden Target Awards for PPR for his innovative rural communication work. The New York Film & Television Industry recognised his work with a prestigious international award for best agricultural film for a short subject documentary about Australian cotton production.
For several years after his graduation Peter Ireland taught communication students at UTS.
Before he was 30, Peter discovered that he had multiple sclerosis and soon afterwards retired from public relations. With his wife, Diane and daughter, Sarah, the family moved to Coffs Harbour. For the past 20 years, Peter maintained a lively interest in community affairs, continuing his reputation as a capable debater, a deep and ethical thinker and a 'guardian of the right'. Though confined to a wheelchair, he became a regular voice on the local community radio station.
In the past few years, the gradual physical decline caused by MS defeated him, but happily, he retained his lively interest and enthusiasm for communication right until the end. He encouraged Sarah to study communication and to undertake work experience at PPR. It is expected that she will shortly graduate and work in the communication industry.
Peter Ireland is a loss to the profession and to the PRIA. He believed in communication and in its importance for the future. He will be warmly remembered as a loyal and outstanding colleague.
Sir Asher Joel
Sir Asher Joel is one of public relations' founding fathers and a foundation member of the PRIA. In the 70s just about everyone in Australia knew the name of Sir Asher Joel. His public recognition was the result of long and thoughtful community service, hard work, sound judgement, and flair for combining these qualities with a sense of timing could bring off a masterstroke. His first in a long line of successes was when he worked his way from newspaper copyboy to reporter in the thirties. It was a rare achievement in those cold hard days of the Depression.
Sir Asher began his community work in 1937 when he became publicity director for the King George V Coronation celebrations. The following year he was appointed publicity director on the committee organising the Australian bicentenary celebrations. The outbreak of war saw him in military service with the AIF and then the Royal Australian Navy. As a Navy lieutenant he worked as a staff officer (operations) in New Guinea and RAN public relations liaison officer with the Commander of the US Seventh Fleet in the South West Pacific. and later joined the staff of General MacArthur.
He was awarded a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974 and was a Member of the NSW Legislative Council from 1957.
Pauline McGrath
On 26 November 1982 the public relations industry lost one of its respected and valued practitioners. During her years in the industry, Pauline established a reputation for personal integrity, unstinting effort, creative and imaginative programming and for her undoubted professionalism. Her dedication to the industry was further emphasised by her involvement in the activities of the PRIA. For some years she served on various committees and on the council of the NSW Branch.
Ronald Plater
Ronald Plater died on June 5th 2004 at St. Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He was 82.
Plater served with the Royal Air Force in World War II and was awarded the Military Cross on April 22, 1943. A long-time journalist, Plater switched to public relations when he joined Eric White Associates in the 1950’s. Plater led the New South Wales branch of the Public Relations Institute as president and became national president for the year of 1973.
Plater also served as chairman of the consultancy Ronald Plater & Company.
Jon & Lynne Royce
Jon Royce, who founded the Royce communication consultancy in 1969, was the first Australian to be elected President of the International Public Relations Association. Jon recognised the value of learning about public relations practice in other countries, and was instrumental in IPRA’s decision to hold its 1988 world congress in Melbourne. Unfortunately, Jon died from cancer before the congress was held. As a tribute to Jon’s contribution to the profession, the congress organising committee donated the profit from the congress to establish the Royce Fellowships.
Jon’s wife, Lynne, was also a director of the consultancy and continued to make an energetic contribution to the daily life and operation of the business until she died in a car accident in 1992.
The Royce group generously fully funded the first five Fellowships. After a lapse of some years, the Fellowships are again being offered, and are being financed by the profits from the 1988 IPRA congress. The Public Relations Institute of Australia is administering the Royce Fellowships in conjunction with the trustees of the Jon & Lynne Royce Memorial Trust.
Last Updated: September 6, 2007