Yahoo Lifestyle 5 Reasons We'll Miss Quentin Bryce As Governor General
Governor General Quentin Bryce. Photo: Getty Images,
Adieu Governor General Quentin Bryce. This week, after five years in the top job, Her Excellency is set to depart Yarralumla for the last time as her term as GG comes to an end. Besides being the first woman to hold the post, her tenure, in stark contrast to her predecessors, was marked by a commitment to speaking up when it came to issues she believed in. That, plus a penchant for a fabulous hat – making her just the kind of woman we love at marie claire.
Here are five reasons we will miss Quentin Bryce as Governor General.
1. Her vocal stance on the scourge of domestic violence. Speaking in late 2012, Ms Bryce said violence in the home was an "unspoken evil", arguing, “Like many evolutionary movements, change in attitudes will begin in the community, at local level, around barbecues, at the school sports carnival or on the back steps”.
2. In 2012, she was reduced to tears during a visit to the Al Zaatari refugee camp, home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. That display of genuine emotion was uncharacteristic of a national figure but we loved her for her honesty in the face of such personal tragedy.
3. Delivering the Boyer Lecture late last year, Ms Bryce voiced her support for marriage equality, saying she hoped Australia would become a country where "people are free to love and marry whom they choose."
4. Her style. Let's be honest: The lady can work a hat. We have to salute the GG's impeccable yet vibrant taste in regal ensembles. Peter Cosgrove, you have your work cut out for you topping your predecessor in the style stakes.
5. Her trailblazing example. Quentin, who studied law, was one of the first women to be admitted to the Queensland bar and in 1968 she was the first woman appointed to be a faculty member at the same institution where she had studied. And, somewhere along the way she managed to have five children with husband Michael Bryce.
