NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, at yesterday's bushfire fundraiser at Government House. At left, she drinks a cup of coffee or tea, and above meets the volunteers at the Country Women's Association lamington and tea stall. The lammies were VERY nice!Marie Bashir was appointed Governor of NSW in March 2001. She was born in Narrandera in the Riverina district of NSW, and educated at Narrandera Public School and Sydney Girls High School. She gained her bachelor degrees in medicine and surgery in 1956 from the University of Sydney. She taught at the Universities of Sydney and NSW, working in the areas of children's services, psychiatry and mental health, and indigenous health programs. At the time of her appointment as Governor of NSW, she was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney; Area Director of Mental Health Services Central Sydney; and Senior Consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern and to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Kempsey. An impressive list of achievements!
What struck us was that Professor Bashir arrived without fuss or fanfare, and without an obvious security presence. She was riding in the front of the car, and carried her own change of clothes into the house. Then, she mingled freely with the vistors, saying a casual "hi" and "welcome" and "thankyou for coming" as she passed people. She seems very at ease with people.
Egalitarian to her bootstraps.
ReplyDeleteShe is also the Chancellor of USYD and can walk around here totally unaccompanied and the students either have no idea who she is or totally ignore her. I suspect the former ...
And she is married to a rugby nutter ...
That's a lovely story, Julie. Her husband just sat on a plastic chair on the lawn, looking like he was soaking up the atmosphere. He was a very GOOD rugby player too!
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