One of Australia's greatest poets, Les Murray, will be farewelled at a State Memorial Service after his family accepted an offer from the NSW government.
Leslie Allan Murray, known as the Bush Bard of Bunyah, died in Taree on the NSW mid north coast on April 29, aged 80.
The celebrated poet won numerous international literary awards including the Petrarch Prize and the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize.
He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1989 for his services to Australian literature, and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry a decade later.
"Known for his sense of humour and insight, Mr Murray published nearly 30 volumes of poetry during an illustrious career spanning many decades," a statement from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's office said on Saturday.
The service will be held at the State Library of NSW, on Macquarie Street in Sydney's CBD, on June 12.
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