poem by William Watson, which she headed "Comment on Current Events": He is not old, he is not young, The Member with the Serpent's tongue, The haggard cheek, the hungering eye, The poisoned words that wildly fly, The famished face, the fevered hand – Who slights the worthiest in the land, Sneers at the just, condemns the brave And blackens goodness in its grave.'' Edward St John was forced to resign from the Liberal Party, and the incident spelled the beginning of the end of his parliamentary career. Academic interests and later life In 1960, Gorton accompanied her husband on an official visit to Sarawak, which sparked an interest in oriental languages and cultures. This led to her enrolling part-time at the Australian National University in 1961. She graduated with honours in Oriental Studies in 1965, and began working as a part-time research assistant on an English-Malay dictionary. In a 1968 interview, it was reported: "she can read Malay fluently, but her speech comes into the category of 'more than conversant but less than fluent': 'My vocabulary is largely to do with historical and philosophic subjects, not everyday life. But I hope to overcome this', she said." After John Gorton left the prime ministership in 1971, Bettina resumed her work on the English-Malay dictionary, which was finally completed in 1982. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1974 but was treated successfully. She also lectured part-time at ANU, and eventually completed a Master of Arts, writing her dissertation on the Indonesian author and playwright Achdiat Karta Mihardja. She visited his birthplace in Java in 1977, conducting a series of interviews with people who had known him. John Gorton was knighted in 1977, and Bettina became Lady Gorton. She died, aged 68, on 2 October 1983, at Royal Canberra Hospital. Her husband remarried in 1993, dying in 2002. References 1915 births 1983 deaths American emigrants to Australia American lexicographers Australian lexicographers People from Bangor, Maine Spouses of prime ministers of Australia Women lexicographers Wives of knights Australian National University alumni Naturalised citizens of Australia 20th-century lexicographers