The year was 1970. The Queen was on her way to Sydney’s Town Hall, and Dame Marie Bashir, then best known as Mrs Shahadie, was missing. The Royal family, including Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, were attending a reception to mark the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s Voyage. Dr Bashir, who was married to the Deputy Lord Mayor Nick Shahadie, was due to escort Princess Anne. However, nobody could reach her. Turns out, the doctor was on duty at the hospital.
“Only minutes before the Royal party arrived at the Town Hall … she arrived looking relaxed and poised, without having a wink of sleep the night before,” The Weekly reported.
The woman who would become the first female governor of NSW was juggling the roles of political spouse, mother of three and psychiatrist. She performed each duty with dedication, compassion and care.
“I get up earlier and run harder,” she told The Weekly. “We manage very well.”
A life of service
Born in 1930 in the Riverina region of NSW and educated in Sydney, Marie Bashir pursued a career in medicine. She wanted a vocation she would find rewarding for the rest of her life.
A few years after the Royal near-miss, her husband was elected Lord Mayor, and she was appointed director of the only adolescent unit of its kind in NSW – social workers, nurses and teachers worked with teens needing mental health treatment – at Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic in Leichardt. She was passionate about understanding the cause of mental illness. This devotion powered her through her busy life.
“When the kids are better, I come home sparkling,” she said.
It is this dedication to service that will be Dr Marie Bashir’s legacy. The psychiatrist, public servant, educator, mother and grandmother, who died at age 95, is being remembered as a humble yet formidable force for good and a woman of deep compassion.
Tributes to “a pioneer”
“Dame Marie was an extraordinary Australian and one of New South Wales’ most respected public servants,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a statement announcing Dame Marie Bashir’s death.
“The people of New South Wales held Dame Marie in great respect and affection, reflecting the trust and goodwill she earned over a lifetime of service.”
“She was both a pioneer and an inspiration,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. “In all she did, Dame Marie blended dignity with warmth and intellect with empathy.”
“She quietly broke barriers and set a powerful example of public service,” NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said.
A proud legacy
Dr Bashir was a founding director of Rivendell, the Child, Adolescent and Family Service at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Furthermore, she established an Aboriginal mental health unit and served as a director of the NSW Health Department’s mental health services.
Marie Bashir also served as the NSW governor from 2001 to 2014. During her tenure, in 2006, Dr Bashir met the Queen again, when she was invested with the insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).
In 2014, Professor Bashir was named a Dame of the Order of Australia for extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit in service to the administration, public life, and people of New South Wales, to medicine, particularly as an advocate for improved mental health outcomes, and as a leader in tertiary education.
Dame Marie was also an accomplished violinist. She is survived by her three children, Michael, Susan and Alexandra, and six grandchildren.
