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Marie Bashir
Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (1 December 1930 – 20 January 2026) was an Australian psychiatrist and administrator who served as the 37th Governor of New South Wales from 2001 to 2014 and concurrently as the 17th chancellor of the University of Sydney from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis in psychiatry. In 1993 Bashir was appointed the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, a position she held until her appointment to the governorship.
Bashir retired after holding the office for over 13 years, being the second-longest serving Governor of New South Wales, stating she did not want to surpass the length of service of war hero Sir Roden Cutler. She was succeeded by General David Hurley.
Marie Roslyn Bashir was born in 1930 in Narrandera, New South Wales, to Lebanese Christian 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. Bashir lived in Sydney with her grandmother during this time. Upon graduating in 1947, Bashir 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 for 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.
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.
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Marie Bashir
Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (1 December 1930 – 20 January 2026) was an Australian psychiatrist and administrator who served as the 37th Governor of New South Wales from 2001 to 2014 and concurrently as the 17th chancellor of the University of Sydney from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis in psychiatry. In 1993 Bashir was appointed the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, a position she held until her appointment to the governorship.
Bashir retired after holding the office for over 13 years, being the second-longest serving Governor of New South Wales, stating she did not want to surpass the length of service of war hero Sir Roden Cutler. She was succeeded by General David Hurley.
Marie Roslyn Bashir was born in 1930 in Narrandera, New South Wales, to Lebanese Christian 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. Bashir lived in Sydney with her grandmother during this time. Upon graduating in 1947, Bashir 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 for 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.
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.
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