Tribute to our Patron Dame Marie Bashir
A Legacy of Care and Compassion
Dame Marie Bashir’s life was one of care, kindness and humility. She never wavered from speaking out for truth and justice in the hope that a better world was possible.
Shortly after becoming the 37th Governor of NSW in 2001, Professor Stuart Rees invited her to become the Sydney Peace Foundation Patron, a role she embraced with her characteristic grace and dignity. As Patron, she championed our values of peace with justice, bringing warmth, enthusiasm and a deep understanding in the vital role of peacebuilding and compassion in public life.
“She believed in human rights, she believed in justice through equality and she had an extraordinary humour for humanity,” says the Emeritus Professor Stuart Rees, Sydney Peace Foundation founder and current member of our advisory board.
“She had an equanimity which comes from confidence in your own beliefs and principles. There was a humility, despite her status.”
For years she presented the Sydney Peace Prize to our esteemed laureates from Dr Vandana Shiva and Arundhati Roy to John Pilger and Professor Noam Chomsky.
Prior to her appointment as Governor, Dame Marie was a psychiatrist and worked in the fields of children’s services, mental health and Indigenous health. Her lifelong commitment to mental health, Indigenous wellbeing, education and collaborative leadership shaped her extraordinary legacy.
She led us through tragedies including September 11 and the Bali bombings, always consoling the public with words of unity and understanding. When the gay community was confronting the spectre of AIDS, the turmoil of the marriage equality campaign, Dame Marie was supporting the human rights and the call for equality for the LGBTIQA community.
Dame Marie was at home with a room full of shearers and graziers in Yass as she was with the leaders of nations. But perhaps one of her most enduring and unique contributions to NSW was that not only did the people trust in her gentle, clear leadership, but she in turn trusted the people.
Her legacy will endure through the lives she touched and her deep respect for our common humanity.