Australian literary giant Les Murray dies

Australian literary giant Les Murray has died on the NSW mid north coast aged 80.

Mr Murray is one of the nation's most celebrated poets, winning many literary awards including the Grace Level Prize, the Petrarch Prize and the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize.

In 1999 he was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

He was born in Nabiac on the state's mid north coast before moving to Bunyah with his parents.

His time in the Australian bush and Bunyah specifically featured prominently in his poetry.

During his career spanning close to 50 years, he has also won multiple literary awards, including the Grace Leven Prize in 1980 and 1990, the Petrarch Prize in 1995 and the T.S. Eliot Prize in 1996.

For the past 20 years, Murray had been the editor of conservative magazine Quadrant, only stepping down from the role last year.

Tributes have flooded social media for the literary "king".

"The world has just lost one of its greatest writers," the Australian's literary editor Stephen Romei wrote on Twitter.