John Hinde

John Hamilton Hinde (26 October 1914 – 4 July 2006) was an Australian broadcaster and film reviewer. He worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for more than 50 years, in both television and radio.

Hinde was also one of Australia's first foreign correspondents, reporting from the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Upon his death he left bequests to fund two awards: a literary prize in honour of his late wife, novelist Barbara Jefferis; and the John Hinde Award, for a science fiction script for film or television.

Early life and education Born in 1914, Hinde grew up in Adelaide. He started studying medicine at the University of Adelaide, but dropped out and married. After a short-lived marriage he went first to Melbourne and later to Sydney.

Career Journalism In Sydney, Hinde got a job with The Daily Telegraph in 1937, but was sacked by the editor, Syd Deamer, who mistook him for someone else. Hinde then took a job with the Labor Daily, but soon left because of a political disagreement. Deamer later became editor of ABC Weekly and rehired him. Hinde was attached to General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in 1942, first in Melbourne and then Brisbane, and eventually got to New Guinea and the Pacific.

Later life, death and legacy In 1999, with his eyesight failing and threatened by blindness, he was obliged to retire because he could not watch films properly. The last film that John Hinde presented on the ABC was Odd Man Out, starring James Mason and Kathleen Ryan, on 15 December 1999.

He died on 4 July 2006 in a nursing home in Sydney.

John Hinde Award The John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing is funded by a bequest left by Hinde. Intended to encourage and reward creativity in science-fiction writing for feature film, television, web series, and interactive media, the award is worth $10,000 for the best produced script, as well as professional support for the best unproduced script. It is administered by the Australian Writers' Guild and awarded at the AWGIE Awards ceremony.

Barbara Jefferis Award

Upon Hinde's death the Barbara Jefferis Award was created in 2007 in honour of Hinde's late wife of 64 years, Barbara Jefferis. The literary prize will be one of Australia's richest, the result of a $1 million bequest by Hinde.