London born Chrissy Sharp arrived in Western Australia in 1972 with no intention of staying, but soon became a prominent forest conservation campaigner. She gained a doctorate in politics from Murdoch University and in 1989 was the first woman appointed to the board of the State's watchdog Environmental Protection Authority.
In 1996 she was elected to the WA Parliament where she quickly became the first woman to Chair a parliamentary standing committee. After stepping down from politics in 2005, she devoted much energy into advocacy of restorative action in disturbed forests to protect them from damaging impacts of climate change. She lived with partner Andrew Thamo and their daughter and son at the Small Tree Farm, Balingup. In 1980, the couple co-founded the much-loved arboretum Golden Valley Tree Park nearby. Born in 1947, Chrissy passed in 2021.
