Former newsreader Lee Lin Chin gave her final SBS address to the people of Australia after resigning last week having spent more than 30 years at the broadcaster.
Throwbacks from the past three decades were aplenty during her final bulletin last night, as were the thank you’s and farewell wishes.
What an icon you have been @LeeLinChinSBS, whether knowingly or not, being a role model for multicultural Australia #DoItforLeeLin pic.twitter.com/dg1nrkrl2X
— Corey Rabaut (@coreynr) July 29, 2018
One last time behind the @SBSNews desk for @LeeLinChinSBS pic.twitter.com/4TAOtaicgs
— SBS Australia (@SBS) July 29, 2018
Many of Chin’s colleagues paid tribute to the inimitable presenter, with Mike Tomalaris calling her the “fabric of the network”.
Adding Chin is “unique in every way”.
As well as Tomalaris, Craig Foster said Chin was “an extraordinary professional, one of the greatest in the history of Australian broadcasting”.
“But more than that, you’ve been a beacon of diversity, you’ve redefined what it means for a presenter in Australia, how they should look and how they should talk and how they should dress. Everyone here is incredibly proud of you — I’m sure every Australian is,” he said.
“And you leave as you conducted your celebrated career, very much on your own terms.”
Fellow journalist Anton Enus, whose announcement of a return to SBS coincided with news of Chin’s departure, said Chin has “the confidence and the verve and the off-centre styling to take that established conventionality and turn it on its head.”
He added, “And what we’ve seen over the decades, of course as a result of that, has been an exponentially more interesting broadcasting landscape.
“And I think, Lee Lin, we certainly owe you a great debt of gratitude for bringing that colour and style into our lives over a long period.
“It’s certainly been a great honour being your colleague, being your friend.”
Giving her final farewell to the Australian audience, Chin said:
“As we approach the end of this evening’s news, my final bulletin on SBS, I take my leave with sadness.
“Over the years all my colleagues have featured very prominently and positively in both my life at the network and in my personal life.
“I’m saddest of all to leave you, the audience.
“Thank you for watching and a very goodnight,” she finished.
Chin posted a tweet farewelling the SBS.
30 years, it goes by rather fast.
Goodbye.
— Lee Lin Chin (@LeeLinChin) July 29, 2018
SBS posted a farewell of its own, specifically, saying goodbye to Chin’s wardrobe.
That's a wrap! @LeeLinChinSBS has left the @SBSNews building. The proof is in the empty wardrobe. https://t.co/w9SxaiftNW pic.twitter.com/PgbRl2GrPG
— SBS News (@SBSNews) July 29, 2018
