Heather Ewart is an award-winning Australian journalist and presenter. She is best known for hosting ABC TV’s Back Roads.
The veteran journalist has over forty years of experience covering national and international news events. She has worked as a federal political reporter and a foreign correspondent in London, Washington, and Brussels.
Heather Ewart has worked at ABC for over four decades.
Quick Facts
Name:
Heather Ewart
Nationality:
Australian
Parents:
Honor Ewart (mother) Fergus Ewart (father)
Occupation:
Journalist, presenter
Known for:
Back Roads
Spouse:
Barrie Cassidy
Children:
Adam Cassidy (son) Caitlin Cassidy (daughter)
Early Life
Heather Ewart was born to Honor and Fergus Ewart. She grew up on a sheep, cattle, and wheat farm in central Victoria, where her father was the shire president.
Ewart has always wanted to be a journalist because she loved English and writing. She got a Commonwealth scholarship to do teaching, but she wanted to be a journalist.
Where has Heather Ewart worked?
Ewart started as a cadet in 1977 and arrived in Canberra in 1980, where a few women were in the Press Gallery. She was among the few women reporting on federal politics during the Fraser and Hawke eras.
As a young and feisty feminist, Ewart landed her first job as a journalist as the ‘wedding editor’ at Leader Newspapers in Melbourne. She later joined the Collingwood Fitzroy Courier, where she wrote the whole paper. She covered council meetings, which sparked her interest in politics.
Ewart worked as a foreign correspondent in London, Washington DC, and then Brussels. She covered international news events, including the first Gulf War and the election of US President Bill Clinton.
After working in Melbourne, Ewart joined Canberra as a junior political reporter. She covered the governments of Fraser and Hawke, election campaigns, leadership challenges, and scandals. Among her big stories was the ‘colour TV affair’ in 1982.
Ewart has worked as a National Affairs Correspondent on ABC’s nightly current affairs program, 7.30. She was a winner of the Golden Quill Award in 2007. She worked as the AM and PM correspondent at ABC.
Another big story Ewart covered was the Waco siege, where 21 people died in a violent end to a 51-day stand-off between the FBI and a religious cult. She did foreign posting and job-sharing with Cassidy in Brussels.
Ewart has worked as a national affairs correspondent and chief political editor. She reported Black Saturday and the story of Clare Oliver, who campaigned against solariums after getting skin cancer, which won her a Gold Quill from the Melbourne Press Club.
In 2014, Heather Ewart was co-executive producer and presenter of a three-part ABC TV documentary on the history of the National Party. Mark Scott presented her with a blank canvas to create a new show for regional Australia in 2015.
Ewart has announced she will retire in 2025 after working at the ABC for almost 50 years. She is the presenter for ABC TV’s Back Roads.
Personal Life
Heather Ewart is married to political journalist Barrie Cassidy. They are parents of two children – a son, Adam Cassidy, and a daughter, Caitlin Cassidy, who have followed in their footsteps. The duo also have a grandson, Quinn.
Ewart’s relationship with Cassidy started in Canberra. Her sister, who was a potter, died in hospital in 2017.
