Quentin Bryce

Quentin and Michael Bryce

Quentin Alice Louise Strachan was born in 1942 in Brisbane,[8] the second of four daughters.[9] Her parents, Norman Walter Strachan and Edwina Naida Wetzel,[8] had taken up residence at Ilfracombe in 1940. Bryce—along with all of the children in her family—received home-schooling rather than attending the local State school.[10] Her family left the area in 1949, initially relocating to Launceston, Tasmania, where they remained for approximately a year. Returning to Queensland, her family moved to Belmont. While living in Belmont she attended the Camp Hill State School, and there first met her future husband, Michael Bryce.[11]

During the period that they were residing in Belmont, her father moved to Tenterfield, New South Wales. In 1956, Quentin Strachan started attending boarding school at Moreton Bay College, Wynnum, Brisbane.[12]

Upon graduating from high school, Quentin Strachan undertook studies at the University of Queensland, initially enrolling in a social work and arts degree, but transferring to law in her third year at the institution.[12] She graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1965.[13][14] That year she became one of the first women to be admitted to the Queensland Bar,[15] although she never practised professionally.[11]

Quentin Strachan married Michael Bryce on 12 December 1964; the couple have two daughters and three sons.[8][16] Michael Bryce died on 15 January 2021, aged 82 years.[17][18]

Bryce at Floriade, the national flower show in Canberra on 3 October 2010.

After spending some time in London, Bryce returned to Australia and accepted a part-time tutoring position at the T. C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland in 1968, thus becoming the first woman to be appointed to the faculty.[19] In 1969 she took up a lecturing position at the law school,[20] and she continued to teach at the university until 1983.[11]

In 1978 the Fraser government formed the National Women's Advisory Council and Bryce was "vaulted to prominence" with her appointment to the council,[11] taking on the role of convener in 1982.[20] In 1984 she became the first director of the Queensland Women's Information Service under the umbrella of the Office of the Status of Women[21] and was appointed as the "women's representative on the National Committee on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation".[20] In 1987 she became the Queensland director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).[21]

Over a five-year period (1988–1993) Bryce served as Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner during the time of the Hawke Labor government.[22] Her time in the role was a busy one, with around 2,000 complaints being handled by the commission each year and the work difficult and complex.[23] The period was also noted as being one of "galloping legal reform" for the rights of women, yet, as Sandra McLean described it, Bryce kept a firm grip on the "reins of change" during this time.[22] Nevertheless, concerns were raised when, in 1990, Alexander Proudfoot formally complained that the women's health centres in the Australian Capital Territory were operating in breach of the Sex Discrimination Act.[21] This culminated in 1994 when Bryce faced an HREOC hearing after being accused of discriminating against Proudfoot – and ended when the commission found in Bryce's favour and dismissed the complaint, stating that the behaviour in question "did not reflect on the way Ms Bryce discharged her duties".[24]

After finishing her time as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Bryce became the founding chair and chief executive officer of the National Childcare Accreditation Council, where she remained for three years[21] before changing direction between 1997 and 2003 when she became the principal and chief executive officer of The Women's College within the University of Sydney, New South Wales.[25] The move was said to have "stunned her political and legal acquaintances",[11] but Bryce saw it as bringing "together all the life skills and attributes" that she had acquired, as well as providing an opportunity to have an influence on the students' futures.[26]

In other roles, Bryce has been the chair of the National Breast Cancer Advisory Council and sat on the Australian Women's Cricket Board,[26] and has been a member of organisations such as the YWCA, the Australian Children's Television Foundation and the Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital.[27] Bryce was also a US State Department Visitor in 1978 and a Member of the Australian Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland from 1989 to 1991.[8]

Bryce (far right) during a March 2009 visit to Africa.

In 2003, on the recommendation of the Premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, appointed Bryce as Governor of Queensland, the second woman to occupy the position.[21] Once Bryce's nomination had been accepted by the Queen, Beattie opened it up for debate in the Legislative Assembly—an "unprecedented" move performed by the Premier as the first step in changing the manner by which the nominations are managed.[22] Nevertheless, the outcome was never in doubt, as Beattie had a majority in the Legislative Assembly and had "cleared the vote with the National and Liberal leaders" prior to the debate.[21]

Bryce's time at Government House, Brisbane, was not always peaceful, but she was considered by some as a "highly respected figure" during her time as governor.[28] Concerns raised in the media included the "substantial" exit of staff at Government House not long after Bryce became governor, as at least eight staff, including the executive office, head chef, house manager and gardener resigned or were fired during her term,[29] and the use of Government House for private parties.[30] In response to the latter, Beattie argued that there was nothing wrong with holding private functions at Government House, especially as Bryce had paid for the events out of her own pocket,[30] while the Queensland Public Sector Union stated in 2008 that the staff disputes were "with the management as a whole, but there wasn't anything specific against the Governor".[31] Staff at Queensland Government House had "not [been] enthusiastic" about Bryce as Queensland governor.[32] A former staff member described Bryce as a "control freak".[32]

In January 2008, it was announced her initial five-year term, due to end in late July, was to be extended to cover the period of Queensland's sesquicentennial celebrations in 2009.[33] In making the announcement, Labor Premier Anna Bligh described how Bryce had been an "inspiring leader" while serving as governor, and acknowledged Bryce's willingness to spend a "great deal of time" in regional and remote areas, serving as a "Governor for all of Queensland".[34] The extension did not eventuate, however, as she was appointed governor-general, and she was succeeded as Queensland governor on 29 July 2008 by Penelope Wensley.[35]

Bryce after an interview at Regatta Point at the Australia Day ceremony in Canberra on 26 January 2010

Former Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard with Quentin Bryce, former Governor-General of Australia.

On 13 April 2008 it was announced that, on the recommendation of the Labor Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, Queen Elizabeth II had approved Bryce's appointment as the next Governor-General of Australia.[36] The decision was generally well received: current and previous Labor state premiers supported her selection and both the then Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson, and the leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke in favour of the decision.[37] Patricia Edgar described Bryce's selection as an "inspired choice",[38] while Jill Singer in the Herald Sun said that the decision signalled "an important about face for Australia".[39]

There was some opposition to the appointment, in particular from columnist Des Houghton, who argued that she would bring a "fair bit of baggage" to the role (in reference to the controversies surrounding her time as the Governor of Queensland) and that she had failed to live up to her promise to be outspoken during her time at Government House.[40] Concerns were also raised in August 2008, when it was revealed that Bryce intended to replace Malcolm Hazell, who had been the Official Secretary for both Major General Michael Jeffery and Peter Hollingworth, with Stephen Brady. Kevin Rudd defended Bryce's decision, arguing that she had the right to appoint a new Official Secretary.[41]

Bryce was sworn in on 5 September 2008. An extension of her term was announced on 24 October 2012, to expire in March 2014.[42][43]

On the election of Bill Shorten as Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition in October 2013, Bryce offered her resignation to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in order to forestall any perception of bias, given that Bryce's daughter Chloe is married to Shorten.[44] While acknowledging her magnanimity, Abbott declined to accept her resignation and asked her to serve the rest of her term.[45] According to him Bryce provided continuity at a time of political turbulence and she should be commended for her dedication to public service.[46]

• ABC Radio National Boyer Lectures, 2013 Boyer Lectures
• Bryce, Quentin in The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.