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Patricia Joan (Pat) Hull

Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women logo
Patrician Joan Hull

Awarded for service to the Community

Born: 16 September 1921 Died: 10 April 2011

Entered on roll: 2008


Blessed with a lively intelligence and great personal warmth she radiates enthusiasm and has the quality of being present, in every way. (Mrs Barbara Boyle, 2008).

Patricia Hull, or Pat as she was known to most people, was born in Oatlands and grew up in Hobart. In 1936, her father, who worked with the Post Master General’s Department, was transferred and the family moved to Queenstown. Pat took up a position on the telephone exchange at the local post office, and at the same time, took night classes at the Queenstown technical college in typing, short-hand, bookkeeping and other business skills. After the death of Pat’s father in1940, Pat and her mother returned to Hobart. Pat worked at the Hobart telephone exchange until 1942 when she married Bernard Hull and returned to Queenstown. Over the next 14 years, Pat and Bernard had five sons, and Pat resumed work at the Queenstown Post Office.

Pat’s sons, like other local children, attended preschools held in church halls. This led Pat to join a parents group which raised money to build a dedicated preschool for local children. This was the beginning of Pat’s interest in community work. Pat went on to become a founding member of the Queenstown Rebekah Lodge, an organisation of which she remained a member until late in her life. Pat was also involved with the Lions Ladies Auxiliary for 30 years, and was Secretary of the organisation for 10 years. She was a long-serving member of many regional committees, including the West Coast Heritage Committee, the West Coast Regional Arts Committee, the Abt Railway Committee and many others. Pat was also a keen amateur historian and a vocal campaigner for social justice and environmental issues.

Whilst Pat Hull was a significant contributor to her community, many people may first remember her as an accomplished artist. Pat did not discover this passion until later in her life. Whilst working at the Queenstown Post Office, Pat took up oil painting, focusing on landscapes. She spent many hours honing her skills, studying art books and visiting galleries and museums, before holding her first exhibition at Zeehan’s Gallery Z in 1977. A common theme throughout all of Pat’s artwork is her use of vibrant colours and her works have been hung in a number of West Coast museums, galleries, schools and churches. Pat also donated many of her artworks to charity for fundraising purposes. Pat was always keen to experiment with new media and also had success with sculpture, miniature painting, porcelain painting and quilting.  One of Pat’s famed quilts, ‘Man of the West Coast’, is made from neck ties belonging to a diverse group of men who have lived or worked on the West Coast. Like many of Pat’s works, this quilt depicts her admiration and respect for the people and landscape of Tasmania’s West Coast.

As well as developing her own artistic skills, Pat, through teaching, helped many others to realise their potential.  When Pat retired from the Post Office in 1981, she approached the Community College to offer her services as an art teacher.  Over the next 14 years, she taught Adult Education classes in pottery and landscape painting in Queenstown, Rosebery and Strahan. Although she officially retired in 1995 at the age of 74, Pat continued to teach voluntarily for a number of years.

Pat Hull was honoured for her contribution to the community and arts scene of the West Coast with a number of awards including West Coast Citizen of the Year 1998 and an Adult Education Outstanding Tutor Award in 2003.

On 10 April, 2011, Pat passed away in her beloved Queenstown. Members of the West Coast arts community attended her funeral, all wearing an original artwork created by Pat.

Photograph courtesy of The Mercury.

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