The Mt Alexander Friends of Lolotoe have kindly shared a special tribute to their friend and passionate Timor Leste advocate, Rae Kingsbury, who passed away late last year…
Rae was a remarkable individual whose bond with Timor Leste (East Timor) was demonstrated numerous times over the 26 years she was involved with Australia’s tiny neighbour.
In 1999, Rae initially lobbied the Australian government to send an observer to the ‘Popular Consultation’, Timor-Leste’s much anticipated vote for independence. Following the then Howard government’s muted response, Rae established, in conjunction with the then head of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid Human Rights Office, Pat Walsh, the Australian observer mission to the Popular Consultation. It was known as the Australia-East Timor International Volunteers Program and was critically important as an observation body monitoring the first free vote in Timor Leste’s history.
It was through this process that Rae met Damien, later to become her husband, in his role as coordinator of the observer group.
Rae later observed the Popular Consultation in Dili and Balibo as a guest of the Australian Parliamentary delegation.
Following the violence and destruction of the Popular Consultation by Indonesian forces Rae organised, as the airlines organiser for the Australian Services Union, a black ban of all flights to Indonesia until it accepted a UN-approved international peacekeeping force. This was indeed a remarkable achievement.
In December 1999, in co-operation with Timor-Leste’s soon to be ambassador to Australia, Abel Guterres, Rae founded the community based Australia-Timor-Leste Friendship Groups. There are now still more than 30 of these groups across Australia who owe their existence to Rae Kingsbury.
In Central Victoria, Mt Alexander’s Friends of Lolotoe, Macedon Ranges Friends of East Timor who focus on Turiscai and Bendigo’s Friends of Maubisse all have active, long lasting and very involved connections with their respective Timor communities.
Construction, educational, agricultural, sanitation and food security projects developed over the years and now continuing to grow in these often very isolated areas of East Timor can be traced back to Rae’s initiatives.
Apart from personally establishing the City of Darebin Friends of Baucau and being instrumental in the establishment of City of Port Phillip Friends of Suai/Cove Lima and City of Moreland Friends of Alieu, Rae always took a deep interest in the activities of all Friendship groups.
As a progression of this interest, Rae established the Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Network in 2008 to facilitate coordination and sharing of knowledge between the groups.
Rae went on to coordinate the Australian observer groups to Timor-Leste’s presidential and parliamentary elections in 2002 and in partnership with her husband, Professor Damien Kingsbury, to later elections in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2018/19.
In December 2012 Rae was appointed Honorary Consul for Timor Leste Victoria, a position she retained until 2017.
Rae’s work was acknowledged by her being inducted into the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll by the state government, with a member of the Order of Australia, and by the Timor Leste government with a Medal of Merit.
Rae and Damien were active members of Mt Alexander Friends of Lolotoe when they came to live in the area in recent years.
Sadly, Rae passed away on December 9, 2025 after a period of illness.
She will be remembered with great fondness by many in both Australia and Timor Leste for her boundless enthusiasm and energy, her warm and engaging nature and her deep love for the tiny developing nation of Timor Leste. She will be missed.