Patron in Chief

Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC

Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia

Quentin Bryce was born in Brisbane in 1942 and spent her early years in Ilfracombe, a small town in Central Western Queensland. In 1965, she graduated in law from The University of Queensland and was admitted to the Queensland Bar. She has since enjoyed a rich and distinguished career as an academic, lawyer, community and human rights advocate, senior public officer, university college principal, and vice-regal representative in Queensland, and now Australia.

Ms Bryce’s former roles – some, among firsts for women in this country – include:

- Lecturer and Tutor in Law, The University of Queensland
- Convenor, National Women’s Advisory Council
-Inaugural Director, Queensland Women’s Information Service
- Member of the Australian Delegation to the conferences overseeing the UN Conventions on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and the Rights of the Child
- Director, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Queensland
- Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
- Founding Chair and CEO, National Childcare Accreditation Council
- Principal and CEO, The Women's College, University of Sydney, and
- Governor of Queensland.

Quentin Bryce’s contribution to advancing human rights and equality, the rights of women and children, and the welfare of the family was recognised in her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2003.

In her civic role as Governor of Queensland, Ms Bryce continued her work with women, families and young people while extending her influence across the State’s broad and diverse spectrum, including the rural, regional, aged, indigenous, migrant, and disability sectors.

As a mother and grandmother, Quentin is a role model and mentor to women at every stage of their lives. She values and encourages women’s capacity to form strong and enduring bonds of friendship, intellectual and emotional enrichment, and mutual support in their roles within the family, workplace and community.

On 5 September 2008 Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia’s twenty-fifth Governor-General. As the first woman to take up the office, she remains a pioneer in contemporary Australian society, and yet one who brings more than forty years of experience in reform, community building and leadership to the role.

Quentin Bryce and her husband, Michael, were married in 1964. They have two daughters and three sons, and five grandchildren.