Quentin Bryce: The Authorised Biography tells the remarkable story of one of Australia’s most impactful changemakers. Photo: Supplied.
As Australia’s first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce’s term was marked by her significant impact and innovative legacy. Sworn into office in 2008, she built an extraordinary record of achievement. It was one of many firsts in a pioneering career devoted to reform and serving the community.
Quentin Bryce, 82, was made a Dame in the Order of Australia on 25 March, 2014, after her term as governor-general ended.
Even before she was inaugurated, she had achieved many milestones in her career. Not only has she bequeathed a monumental inheritance, she is also the epitome of poise.
An Australian academic, who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia, Dame Quentin was previously the 24th governor of Queensland from 2003 to 2008. Her illustrious career includes roles such as director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Queensland (1987-1988); Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner (1988-1993); founding chair and CEO, National Childcare Accreditation Council (1993-1996); and principal and CEO of Sydney’s Women’s College.
Her early childhood in a western Queensland bush town shaped her sense of self and her destiny. A young Quentin dreamed of changing the world and then set out to do so. She was the first from her school to go to university and among the first women admitted to the Queensland bar.
In revolutionary times, her advocacy for human rights — especially for women, children and First Nations Australians — underpinned her every role, which included teaching in the male-dominated law faculty at the University of Queensland.
This 480-page, photo-rich hardback traces the triumphs and the barriers as Dame Quentin shattered glass ceilings, and reveals the woman behind the high offices she held. She personifies fortitude, self-esteem, steadfastness and the hard-won lesson of enduring with assuredness and elegance.
It is the mother-of-five and grandmother to 12’s partnership with soulmate Michael Bryce and the love of family, enduring friendships and belief in community that have sustained her. Her passion for the arts and elemental connection to Australia’s ancient landscape feed her soul.
Sincere, compelling, forthright and perceptive, Quentin Bryce: The Authorised Biography tells the phenomenal story of a distinguished life of one of Australia’s most impactful changemakers.
As Dame Quentin discloses: “Growing up in the bush stands you in great stead … No matter who you are, in the end you’re on your own. It’s up to you. You’ve got to have the confidence and courage to hold on to what you believe in.”
This authorised biography builds on a unique rapport, validating the special connection between the subject and the writer. Juliet Rieden is an author, journalist, magazine editor and royal correspondent. Her extensive portfolio of interviewees includes former prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Malcolm Turnbull; international artists Dame Helen Mirren, Glenn Close, Sally Field, Dame Joanna Lumley and Cate Blanchett; writers Clive James, Hilary Mantel and Mary Beard; and royals King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and Queen Mary of Denmark.
“Mention the name Quentin Bryce and most Australians cite her trailblazing governor-general years, a heady moment in history that ended a very particular boys’ club right at the nub of public life,” Rieden writes.
“For Quentin, this groundbreaking appointment was the culmination of an exceptional — and ongoing — career dedicated to reform. This role allowed Quentin, a passionate feminist, to rub out one more line in the sand along the nation’s bumpy (still, alas, trundling) road to gender equality.
“There are many scenes that capture Quentin’s impact on Australia, but one of the most symbolic was the time in 2012 in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, when Quentin, then governor-general, and Elizabeth Broderick, then sex discrimination commissioner, swapped body armour on the Australian Defence Force base runway.”
It is Elizabeth who recalls that “Quentin was on her way out; I’d just flown in by Hercules. We were on the tarmac and I took off my body armour from the inward flight and handed it over to Quentin, who proceeded to pull it on so she would be safe for her flight out. We looked at each other and had a conversation about how incredible it was that we were starting to see a stronger representation of women in our armed forces, and then we both broke into a smile … That was an incredible moment. That showed progress.”
Indigenous elder and academic Marcia Langton describes her as being “… a true patriot, a shining light, an outstanding human being — and now, in her eighties, she’s still a role model. Quentin’s unstoppable.”
Quentin Bryce: The Authorised Biography, by Juliet Rieden, Penguin, $55
