Jill Roe, AO, was born at Tumby Bay on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula and spent her first fourteen years living on the Peninsula. She is Professor Emerita in Modern History at Macquarie University, Sydney, where she was awarded a DLitt as a higher research degree for her work on Australian writer Miles Franklin, principally the Margarey Medal-winning Stella Miles Franklin: A biography. Her publications in Australian social and cultural history include numerous entries in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History. In 2016, Jill was awarded the Australian Dictionary of Biography Medal for long and distinguished service. Jill Roe passed away on 13 January 2017 after a long battle with illness and injury.