Her Excellency Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO, Governor of NSW and Major General Iain Spence, CSC RFD salute Cadets and Pipe Bands during March Past at sunset of 2014 Avalon Tattoo - picture by A J Guesdon.
The former governor and her late husband and Wallaby captain, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, bought 115 Pacific Rd, Palm Beach in 1998 as a weekender. In September 2025 the classic 6-bedroom home on 1265sqm of level land with north-facing views across Palm Beach, Barrenjoey Headland and Cape Three points, was placed on the market with EOI closing November 5. The very private two-level home has lots of light, polished hardwood floors and living areas that open to a north-facing deep expansive deck.
Their permanent home for 50 years was at Mosman.
Dame Bashir was a very popular Pittwater resident who contributed in any way she could to local projects and events and will be missed for her humble, gentle approach and embrace of locals.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has announced Her Excellency will be honoured with a State Funeral.
Premier Minns stated on January 20:
''On behalf of the family of Dame Marie Bashir, I am saddened to share the news of her passing.
Married to Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC OBE for 61 years, and a deeply loved mother of three children and six grandchildren, Dame Marie was an extraordinary Australian and one of New South Wales’ most respected public servants.
On behalf of the people of New South Wales, I extend my deepest condolences to Dame Marie’s family, friends and all those who were inspired by her remarkable life.
Dame Marie Bashir served our state with distinction as the first female Governor of NSW from 2001 to 2014, bringing to the role immense dignity and compassion.
Reflecting on her 14 years as Governor, Dame Marie Bashir explained that she deliberately chose not to extend her tenure beyond that point, despite being widely respected, because she did not wish to surpass Sir Roden Cutler as the longest-serving Governor.
It was a decision that reflected her humility and deep respect for those who came before her.
She was a distinguished psychiatrist and a long-standing advocate for mental health, education and social inclusion.
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.
In recognition of her extraordinary contribution to our state and nation, a State Funeral will be held in honour of Dame Marie Bashir. Details will be provided in due course.''
Photo: A J Guesdon
Marie Roslyn Bashir was born in 1930 in Narrandera, New South Wales, to Lebanese parents Michael Bashir and Victoria Melick. Her father and her paternal uncle were both medical graduates from the American University of Beirut. Her maternal family had come to Australia in the 19th century.
Bashir attended Narrandera Public School and in 1943 enrolled at Sydney Girls High School, which her mother had also attended. Marie lived in Sydney with her grandmother during this time. Upon graduating in 1947, she studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, becoming a proficient violinist.
Bashir completed the dual degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 1956 at the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, residing at The Women's College from 1950 to 1955. In 1959, she was elected to the college council, became the honorary secretary in 1960 and chair from 1982 to 1990. She took up life membership of the college union in 1969.
While at university, she met rising rugby player Nicholas Shehadie, to whom she was married on 23 February 1957 at St Philip's Church, Sydney, by Felix Arnott, then the warden of St Paul's College, University of Sydney. They had their first child, Michael, in 1959, followed by two daughters, Susan and Alexandra.
Upon her graduation in medicine, Bashir took up a posting as a junior resident medical officer at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney and then to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. After first living in Elizabeth Bay, Bashir and Shehadie moved their family to Pendle Hill in Western Sydney where Bashir worked as a general practitioner. However, wanting to assist people suffering from mental illnesses, Bashir eventually decided to take up postgraduate studies in psychiatry. To make this easier, in 1968 Bashir and her family moved to the inner suburb of Mosman on Sydney's North Shore, purchasing a Middle Harbour-waterfront house at 7 Shellbank Avenue for $57,000 from yachtsman Gordon Reynolds. This would be their primary residence until its sale in May 2020.
When Nicholas Shehadie was made Lord Mayor of Sydney, Bashir became the Lady Mayoress of Sydney from 1973 to 1975.
In 1974 she was named as "Mother of the Year" by the New South Wales Child Care Committee and the National Council of Women in the state, with Bashir noting "the fact that I, as a professional woman, was chosen as Mother of the Year points to the growing social acceptance of a working mother".
When Mr. Shehadie was knighted in 1976, Bashir acquired the courtesy title "Lady Shehadie"; however, she chose not to use it, retaining her own name, "Marie Bashir", in professional life.
After completion of postgraduate studies in psychiatry, Marie was made a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1971, becoming a fellow in 1980. From 1972, Marie Bashir was a teacher, lecturer and mentor to medical students at The University of Sydney.
In 1972, Bashir was appointed founding director of the Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Service, which provides consultative services for young people with emotional and psychiatric issues. In 1977 she oversaw the unit's move to the former Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital in Concord West, following its acquisition by the New South Wales Health Commission in 1976. In 1987 she was appointed director of the community health services in the Central Sydney Area Health Service, which put emphasis on early childhood services, migrant and Indigenous health as well as the elderly.
Queens Birthday Honours were made on 13 June 1988 when Marie was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "In recognition of service to medicine, particularly in the field of adolescent mental health."
From 1990 to 1992, Bashir served on the New South Wales Women's Advisory Council. In 1993, Marie was appointed Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney, and in 1994 as the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service. This was a time of major reform in mental health service delivery, which contributed to substantial change in the provision of public sector mental health services. She served until 2001. In her university role, Bashir was instrumental in developing collaborative teaching programs between colleagues in Vietnam and Thailand with Australian psychiatrists, chairing the University of New South Wales' Third World Health Group (1995–2000) and supporting various financial and social support programs for international students.
In 1995, in a partnership with the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, she established the Aboriginal Mental Health Unit, which provides regular clinics and counselling at both the Aboriginal Medical Service in Sydney and mainstream centres. From 1996, Bashir also took up the consultative role of senior psychiatrist to the Aboriginal Medical Service. Whilst championing the health of Indigenous Australians, Bashir continued her focus on youth and juvenile issues, particularly through her terms chairing the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council (1991–1999) and as a consultative psychiatrist to Juvenile Justice Facilities (1993–2000). On 1 January 2001, Bashir was awarded the Centenary Medal.
In early 2001, on the recommendation of then Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr, Her Majesty Elizabeth II, appointed Bashir as Governor of New South Wales, making her the state's first female governor and also the first person of Lebanese descent to be appointed as governor of any Australian state.
Marie Bashir was sworn in on 1 March 2001 and on 30 March was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). Bashir's appointment was welcomed by both sides of politics and commended in a Sydney Morning Herald editorial as "an inspired choice" as well as noting that Bashir would be "a powerful advocate for the powerless".
In the governor's role, Marie Bashir departed from past practice. For Indigenous Australians, she launched a health initiative to support Indigenous medicine and nursing students as well as supporting the progress of reconciliation. On the very day of her inauguration, Bashir agreed to become Patron of the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service, which addresses mental and social issues in the LGBT community. This was the first time a NSW governor had supported a gay organisation.
In 2005 Bashir opened the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival in a concert in Hyde Park and credited the event with fostering "that sense of freedom which springs from the considerable diversity within our society – diversity of race, religion, culture and also sexual orientation [...] We must never take these things for granted because most of you would agree that across the world today an extraordinary winding back to many previously discarded attitudes is taking place, not only affecting gay and lesbian groups, but women's health and many aspects of social justice".
In 2002, Marie became patron of the Australia-Vietnam Medical Trust and became intimately involved in collaborative health programs in Vietnam, particularly in rural areas.
On 17 May 2001, the Governor-General, Sir William Deane, invested Bashir as a Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ).
Having previously studied violin at the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney, in 2002 Bashir was asked to become the Patron of the Sydney University Graduate Choir. She was also a Patron of Opera Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Pinchgut Opera and the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens.
In 2003 Bashir received the Mental Health Princess Award, awarded by Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand, for contribution to collaborative mental health programs between Australia and Thailand, and in 2004 she was recognised as an Australian Living Treasure.
In 2004 she was made an honorary Member of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In March 2004, during a visit to Lebanon, Bashir was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Cedar by General Emile Lahoud, President of the Republic of Lebanon. On 14 September, Premier Carr announced that he would recommend to the Queen that Bashir's term be extended for another three years. Buckingham Palace confirmed his recommendation on 1 October saying that: "The Queen is content for Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, to remain in her current position until February 2008 as recommended."
On 31 March 2006, the Queen appointed her a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).
In June 2006, Bashir was involved in a high-profile legal case brought to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal between a psychiatrist named Brendan O' Sullivan and the Sydney South West Area Health Service. Bashir had been falsely cited in the case by the Area Health Service's CEO Mike Wallace; however, as Governor she was able to avoid giving evidence in the tribunal by claiming sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that prevents a sovereign or state from being subject to the laws it creates.
In April 2007 Bashir was elected by the University Senate to take up a four-year appointment as Chancellor of the University of Sydney, commencing 1 June 2007. It was announced on 15 October 2007 that the Queen, on the recommendation of Premier Morris Iemma, had extended Bashir's appointment as governor for a further four years to February 2012. On 4 November 2009, she was invested as a Chevalier of the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur by the then President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, and presented by the Ambassador of France to Australia, Michel Filhol.
As the longest-serving incumbent state governor, Bashir held a dormant commission to act as the Administrator of the Commonwealth when the Governor-General of Australia was absent from Australia. She held the position of Administrator many times: from 10 to 17 July 2007, 30 September to 12 October 2007, and 20 April to 4 May 2008 in the absence of Michael Jeffery, and from 30 July to 6 August 2008, 5 to 19 November 2008, 17 March to 2 April 2009, and 7 to 12 June 2010, in the absence of Quentin Bryce.
In May and June 2010, the New South Wales Government experienced a series of resignations: Karyn Paluzzano over expenses abuse, David Campbell over a personal scandal, Ian Macdonald over expenses abuse, and the retirement of Graham West. These were widely seen as highlighting the NSW Government's inability to govern effectively and in response to this there were various calls for Bashir to take action as governor and dismiss the government. She played down these calls in a radio interview on 10 June, saying that:
"The only way that they [the NSW Government] can disappear, so to speak, is if there's a vote of no confidence... Elections do come round from time to time so it's back in the hands of the people."
In late 2010, Mosman Municipal Council decided to name a new sports centre in Rawson Park in Bashir's honour, in recognition of her service to both New South Wales and the Mosman community. She officially opened the "Marie Bashir Mosman Sports Centre" on 10 December 2010 with the Mayor, Anne Connon. On 14 September 2011, then Liberal Premier Barry O'Farrell announced that he had recommended to the Queen that Bashir's term be extended for another two years to 2014, which had been accepted: "Over the past 10 years the Governor's caring nature, her genuine interest in local communities and her extraordinary work rate have endeared her to people everywhere...Because of her diverse background, career and interests, Professor Bashir has given a historic and important post a contemporary relevance and resonance."
On Saturday 18th of June, 2011 the Avalon Tattoo was held at Dunbar Park. Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO, was made an honorary Commodore for this event, and described Pittwater as 'one of the most beautiful areas on our continent' before praising those who organised and participated in the day.
Taking the salute from the assembled Cadets in 2012, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, also gave those assembled a keynote as to what spending a day learning more about our Defence Service peoples gives to those who attend, stating at the reception in Avalon Beach RSL afterwards:
" I ...felt elated and inspired by what we saw today and in particular where we glimpse the future of Australia in our young people. We must not cease to nurture them and be glad that they are embracing those values and traditions. It's not vainglory or wearing a uniform, it's an Australian tradition of caring for one another that has been handed down for as long as this country has existed.
I want to thank all of you who nurture this Avalon Tattoo, and all who are represented here tonight, from so many sections of our community. I'd like to thank you all and thank you on behalf of all the citizens in New South Wales and would like you to raise your glass to toast all those wonderful people who have brought you this Tattoo again, to Commodore Sloper and his team and all those in the community who've pulled together to preserve and enhance what we call the Australian spirit...so indefinable...
To the Avalon Tattoo."
The 9th and 2014 Avalon Tattoo was the last year the Pittwater Community would have the pleasure of Her Excellency Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO, Governor of NSW taking the salute in the March Past. After serving for 13 years this much esteemed lady had announced she would retire on October 1st, 2014.
Then President of Avalon Beach RSL Sub-Branch Graham Sloper ( Cmdr. RTd. RAN) and Her Excellency Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO, Governor of NSW. Photo: A J Guesdon
On Saturday 29th of September, 2012 Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO officially re-opened the Palm Beach Bible Gardens, which had been rejuvenated by the Robinson family and Pittwater Council.
President of The Friends of the Palm Beach Bible Garden Memorial Jill Taylor with Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO on Saturday afternoon (29.9.2012). Photo: Michael Mannington.
Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO Governor of New South Wales, also attended the annual Indigenous Commemorative Service held each May at Hyde Park Cenotaph, which Pittwater residents Doreen Cherry, representing the Women’s Land Army, and Oliver Wyatt, a student at Barrenjoey High School attended to lay a wreath and honour the many indigenous men and women who have served Australia in the Navy, Army and Air Force.
The year 2013 marked the 7th Commemoration Service in Sydney. Pittwater Online News, which also attended the Service, shared a few extracts from Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO Governor of New South Wales Address:
''Around the time of WWII aboriginal attitudes towards the services were understandably cautious- The secretary of the Australian Aborigines League, William Cooper, argued that aborigines should not fight for a white Australia. He had lost his son in the First World War and was ever saddened that that sacrifice had not brought any improvement in rights and conditions. He demanded improvements at home before taking up what he considered was the privilege of defending the land. Nevertheless many hundreds of aborigines, including Torres Strait Islanders, enlisted for WWII, serving in the second A.I.F. and militia with immense courage and distinction and supporting the nation’s defence despite suffering feelings of hurt.
We commend with immense gratitude those heroes, such as Leonard Waters who flew a Kittyhawk on 95 operational missions and John Gribble, a coastwatcher on Melville Island, who formed a unit of thirty-six Indigenous Australians which patrolled a large area of coast and islands, and the wonderful Kath Walker, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, who joined the Australian Women’s Army Service in 1942, after her two brothers were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. A great Australian in every sense whose war time experience and observations helped to lay the foundations for her later advocacy of Aboriginal rights.
As for the Torres Strait Islander men, by 1944 it was estimated that almost every able bodied man had enlisted and that in proportion to population, no community in Australia had contributed more to the Second World War effort then the Torres Strait Islander men.
Sadly many indigenous Service men were killed in the fighting and at least 12 are known to have died as prisoners of war.
Despite their service and all their sacrifices, indigenous veterans returned to much the same standard as before, some even barred from RSL clubs except on ANZAC Day.
…
We must acknowledge those mindless attitudes of the past with a sense of sorrow in our hearts and ensure that we are now moving forward as one people.
I’m certainly grateful that the proud acknowledgement of the service and sacrifice of indigenous servicemen is now taking place through commemorations such as this today and for the wonderful Coloured Digger movement which has been commemorated in recent years on ANZAC Days, services which follow at the Hyde Park Shrine of Remembrance.
Today we can stand together as one great family in gratitude, inspired by what our indigenous Veterans have given towards Australia’s freedom and our national identity.
Now we will proudly ensure that Australia will always remember.
Lest we forget.''
In April 2013 it was announced that a monument to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women will be prominently placed in Sydney’s Hyde Park South as the first state war memorial for Indigenous soldiers in NSW.
The artwork was to be in place by Anzac Day 2015, to mark the centenary of Australia’s involvement in World War I. The City of Sydney Council was seeking submissions that consider the significance of Hyde Park South to the Aboriginal community and its use as a ‘ritual contest ground’.
The Coloured Diggers group was a driving force behind developing a sculpture to honour, recognise and respect Indigenous soldiers and their families. The project is part of the City of Sydney’s Eora Journey public art program - Pittwater Online, attending the 2016 Indigenous Commemorative Service, photographed the sculpture:
From the time of her commencement as governor, Bashir, like her immediate predecessor, did not reside in Government House, Sydney, retaining it for reception and official purposes. However, in October 2011, the new Premier Barry O'Farrell announced that Bashir had agreed with O'Farrell's offer to move back into Government House: "A lot of people believe the Governor should live at Government House. That's what it was built for ... [A]t some stage a rural or regional governor will be appointed and we will need to provide accommodation at Government House so it makes sense to provide appropriate living areas". However, because Government House had not been a residence for fifteen years, O'Farrell also announced that Bashir would initially move into a smaller adjacent building, called the chalet, while refurbishments of the main wing occur, with a proposed move into the main house "before Christmas".
On 19 April 2012, Bashir was presented with the insignia of a Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar by the President of Lebanon, General Michel Suleiman, at Government House, Sydney, during his state visit to Australia. At a meeting of the University of Sydney Senate in May 2012, Bashir announced her intention to retire as Chancellor. At a ceremony marking her retirement as Chancellor, her portrait depicting Bashir as Chancellor by Shen Jiawei was unveiled, to hang in the Great Hall. Also in April, it was announced that Bashir's term as governor, which had been expected to expire in February 2014, had been extended another six months to September 2014, at which Bashir expressed her intention to retire.
On 26 May 2013, Bashir was promoted to the rank of Officer within the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur by the then President of France, François Hollande, and invested with the insignia at a ceremony at Government House Sydney by Général Regis Outtier, Secretary General of the Society of the Légion d'Honneur.
On 21 October 2013 Premier O'Farrell and the Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli announced that the new state primary school in Strathfield on the old site of the Sydney Adventist College would be named the "Marie Bashir Public School" in her honour. At the announcement O'Farrell noted that: "Naming this school after Professor Bashir honours her outstanding contribution to NSW and is a reminder that she achieved all her distinctions after being educated at public schools – from Narrandera Public School to Sydney Girls High School". On 28 November 2013 the Premier of NSW announced that the Queen had given approval for the title of "The Honourable" to be accorded to the governors and former governors of New South Wales.
On 5 December 2013, the University of Sydney decided to rename the Sydney Emerging Infections and Biosecurity Institute in her honour to become the Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity (MBI). Also in December 2013, Bashir became patron of the NAISDA Foundation.
In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bashir was made 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 for the young, marginalised and disadvantaged, to international relations, through the promotion of collaborative health programs, and as a leader in tertiary education".
Narrabeen and Warriewood's, and former Mayor of Pittwater (2007), David James, and Avalon Beach SLSC's former President Warren Young were awarded an OAMs in the same list and both were photographed with Marie when all three received their award medals at Government House in Sydney - three Pittwaterians together!
In September 2014, her official portrait as governor by Archibald Prize finalist Mathew Lynn was unveiled at Government House by then Premier Mike Baird.
Ahead of her impending retirement from office on 1 October 2014, Marie Bashir noted that the time was right for her to go just short of the record in office set by Sir Roden Cutler: "a war hero who lost a leg serving this country, I would like to think of him as the longest-serving governor... for whom I had the greatest admiration and respect".
Marie Bashir made clear at the time of her retirement her interest in continuing her community work, particularly through the area of post-traumatic stress disorder in Australian Defence Force veterans.
As of November 2020 Bashir was one of three patrons of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Her role as patron of the NAISDA Foundation continued as well.
To Pittwater residents Marie Bashir was 'one of our own' - her humble, gentle kindnesses and genuine interest in every single person she met, along with a phenomenal intelligence and memory where she knew your face next time she saw you and could greet you by name, will remain treasured memories by all who were lucky enough to have spent even a few minute with her.
Thank you, Marie Bashir, for your lifetime of service to us all.
Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of NSW. Photo: A J Guesdon, at 2013 and First Ever Local Government NSW Annual Conference
Above: Lovett Bay's Margaret Molloy receiving her OAM from the Governor of New South Wales, the Honourable Marie Bashir.
L-R: Diana and David James, the Governor, Professor Dame Marie Bashir, AC, CVO, Professor David, Wetlands expert David Palmer. Picture from the 5th September 2014 Investiture at Government House, Sydney presented by Dame Marie Bashir.
Bob Waterer and Nan Bosler with Dame Marie Bashir, AC, CVO who launched Nan and Bob's book, The Story of Bob Waterer and his family 1803 – 2010, at a Warringah Council event
Photo: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, AC CVO farewelling Narrabeen's Chaplain Bob Durbin, Master of Ceremony on departure of the HMAS Sydney II Wreath Laying Ceremony at Martin Place, Sydney. November 19, 2012, photo courtesy Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Ben Young, sister Rosalind Carr, Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO, Warren and Mark Young - presentation of OAM from 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours
Left to right: Rose Petersen (author of The Diamond Jubilee State Coach), Doreen Cherry OAM, Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO and Gladys Alder, Narrabeen lady