BUSHFIRE survivor Gary Hughes has won the Graham Perkin Australian journalist of the year award for his moving first-person piece, written just hours after he almost died in the disaster.
Hughes, who writes for The Australian, and his family escaped the blaze with seconds to spare after it roared up a hill on his property and destroyed their St Andrews home.
That night he wrote a 1600-word piece that described the horror of the fire and how quickly it tore through the countryside, a story that last night won him the most coveted award at the 2009 Quill awards for Victorian journalism.
Bushfire stories dominated the Melbourne Press Club event, with The Age's Karen Kissane shortlisted for the Graham Perkin award for her extensive coverage of the inferno and its aftermath.
The Age's China correspondent John Garnaut was also shortlisted for his body of work, including his coverage of the detention of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu.
A team from The Age, Sunday Age and Age online won the Quill for the best coverage of an issue or event for their standout reporting on Australia's worst natural disaster.
The judges described their stories as "[rising] to the challenge, telling a multidimensional story using the full capacity of online immediacy, daily and weekly reportage, commentary and analysis, plus a ground-breaking multimedia production. The entry demonstrated the highest standards of journalism."
The award brought the total number of Quills won by The Age to seven, more than any other news outlet.
The Age's Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, along with Philip Dorling from fellow Fairfax publication The Canberra Times, won the Quill for best news report in print on their series of stories on the relationship between a Chinese businesswoman and defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon.
Age investigative reporter Royce Millar won the award for best regional or rural affairs report in any medium for his piece on a controversial plan that divided the town of San Remo and forced the Bass Coast Council to drop a proposal to redraw development boundaries.
Sports writer Greg Baum picked up the prize for best deadline report in any medium for a story on the epic Australian Open semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, which the judges said lifted journalism to a higher level.
The best columnist/blogger award went to The Age's national affairs editor Tony Wright, for stories that were "beautifully told in gentle narrative with a common thread of unexpected humanity and emotional impact".
Age Sports reporter Samantha Lane won a Quill for best sports story in any medium for her expose of the infamous North Melbourne chicken video that depicted sex acts.
The judges said the story had been bravely handled and highlighted a serious cultural issue for the AFL. The lifetime achievement award went to Age cartoonist Bruce Petty for his insightful, provocative and humorous sketches during a career that began more than 60 years ago.
Other winners included 3AW presenter Neil Mitchell, who won the best radio current affairs report award for a story on how Terri Bracks stopped a depression sufferer's suicide attempt, and the ABC's Drew Ambrose for young journalist of the year.
The Gold Quill was won by Cameron Stewart of The Australian for his exclusive story on massive counterterrorism investigation, Operation Neath.
The Graham Perkin award, which is named after the late Age editor and awards $20,000 to the winner, recognises the best reporter in Australia and this year was open for the first time to journalists outside of print.
Judge Les Carlyon described Hughes work as a monumental achievement that "put smoke in the nostrils of readers and weight in their hearts".
"There was not a sentence that needed to be read twice," he said. "Here was a journalist calling on everything he had learnt during 35 years in the craft.
"The piece was truly memorable . . . We are asked to look for work that Graham Perkin would have liked. I think we can safely say that Graham, God bless him, would have loved this one."
2009 PERKIN AND QUILL AWARD WINNERS
Young Journalist of the Year Award
Drew Ambrose, ABC
RACV Transport
Quill
Fiona Hudson,
Herald Sun &
heraldsun.com.au
Best Columnist/
Blogger
Tony
Wright,
The Age
Best News
Photograph
Alex Coppel,Sunday
Herald Sun
Best Features
Photograph
Craig Borrow, Herald
Sun
Best Three
Headlines in any
Medium
Louise Browne,
Progress Leader
& Manningham
Leader
Best Cartoon
Peter Nicholson, The
Australian
Best Coverage of
an Issue or Event
The Age, The Sunday
Age & The Age Online
(Black Saturday)
Grant Hattam
Quill Award for
Investigative
Journalism
Cameron Stewart, The
Australian
Best TV
Camerawork in
News and Current
Affairs
Will Pristel, Seven News
Best Illustration
in any Medium
Fay Plamka, Seven
News & ABC News
Best Graphics in
any Medium
Simon Schneider &
Olivia Desianti
Herald Sun
Best Use of the
Online Medium
Priscilla Davies & Drew
Ambrose abc.net.au
Lifetime
Achievement
Award
Bruce Petty
Best Business
Story in any
Medium
Pamela Williams,
Australian Financial
Review
Best Suburban
Report in Print
Wes Hosking,
Mordialloc Chelsea
Leader
Best Sports
Story in any
Medium
Samantha Lane,
The Age
Best Regional
or Rural Affairs
Report in any
Medium
Royce Millar, The Age
Best Deadline
Report in any
Medium
Greg Baum, The Age
Best TV News
Report
Norman C Beaman,
Seven News
Best Radio News
Report
Jane Cowan, ABC Radio
Best TV Current
Affairs/Feature
Quentin McDermott,
Sarah Curnow,
Alec Cullen, Caro
Meldrum-Hanna,
Four Corners, ABC
TV
Best Radio
Current Affairs
Report
Neil Mitchell, 3AW
Best News Report
in Print
Richard Baker, Philip
Dorling & Nick
McKenzie, The Age
Best Feature in
Print
Cameron Stewart &
Corrie Perkin, The
Weekend Australian
Monash University
Gold Quill
Cameron Stewart, The
Australian
Graham Perkin
Australian
Journalist of the
Year
Gary Hughes, The
Australian
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
What is the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award and who won it in 2009?
The Graham Perkin award recognises the best reporter in Australia and in 2009 was won by Gary Hughes of The Australian. The prize, named after the late Age editor, carried a $20,000 award and that year the prize was open for the first time to journalists outside print.
Why did Gary Hughes win the 2009 Graham Perkin award for his bushfire story?
Gary Hughes won for a moving 1,600‑word first‑person piece he wrote just hours after almost dying in a bushfire. His story described how the blaze swept up a hill on his St Andrews property, destroyed his home and how his family escaped with seconds to spare—work judges described as a powerful example of top‑quality journalism.
Which news outlet won the most Quill awards at the 2009 Melbourne Press Club event?
The Age won seven Quill awards in 2009—more than any other news outlet at the event—for a range of coverage, including its multi‑platform reporting on the Black Saturday bushfires.
What coverage won The Age the Quill for best coverage of an issue or event?
A team from The Age, The Sunday Age and The Age Online won the Quill for best coverage of an issue or event for their standout, multi‑dimensional reporting on Australia’s worst natural disaster (the Black Saturday bushfires), praised by judges for combining online immediacy, daily and weekly reportage, commentary and multimedia production.
Who won the Gold Quill in 2009 and what was the story about?
Cameron Stewart of The Australian won the Gold Quill for his exclusive reporting on a major counterterrorism investigation known as Operation Neath.
Which journalists were recognised for coverage related to Rio Tinto or international business matters?
John Garnaut, The Age’s China correspondent, was shortlisted for the Graham Perkin award in part for his coverage of the detention of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu. Separately, Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, along with Philip Dorling, won a Quill for a print news series on the relationship between a Chinese businesswoman and defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon.
Which award winners covered business reporting that investors might track?
Business and investigative reporting recognised at the awards included Pamela Williams (Best Business Story for the Australian Financial Review) and investigative teams such as Cameron Stewart (Gold Quill for Operation Neath) and the Baker/McKenzie/Dorling team for their print news series—types of reporting investors often follow for deeper context on companies and policy.
Why should everyday investors pay attention to journalism awards like the Quills and the Graham Perkin?
Awards highlight journalism that meets high standards of investigation, accuracy and context. Everyday investors can benefit from following award‑winning reporters and outlets because their stories—whether on corporate events, regulatory matters or major national incidents—tend to offer deeper analysis and verified information that can inform investment decisions.
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