We are honoured to receive this very special message from Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC.
Her Excellency, our Patron, prepared this message for our members as they met with the Board of Directors today for our 22nd Annual General Meeting. Thank you to all our members for joining our AGM today and a special thank you to our Patron.
“What a remarkable 75 years it’s been. Characterised by deep friendship, relentless advocacy and collective care.”
“What your 75-year history demonstrates so keenly is that together you are a resilient powerhouse of care, commitment and kindness, all of which makes me so very proud to be Patron of Australian War Widows NSW.”
Patrons – History
Since 1948, Australian War Widows has enjoyed Royal or Vice-Regal patronage.
HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, herself a war widow, accepted patronage of the then National War Widows’ Guild of Australia in August 1948. She continued as patron until her death in 1968. She received many members at her residence in London, offering friendship as well as patronage to the Guild in Australia.
She visited Australia in 1964 to open the Gladesville Bridge and the NSW Guild hosted a reception in her honour in Sydney, held at the Sydney Trocadero. She also gave permission for the Guild’s retirement village at Croydon Park to be named after her as Princess Marina Gardens.
In 1978, HRH Princess Alexandra, daughter of HRH Princess Marina, attended a garden party to unveil a plaque at the naming of another of the NSW Guild’s retirement villages, Princess Alexandra House, Dolls Point.
The State Guilds also asked for and were granted patronage by State Governors or their wives, and in many cases, the Governor and his/her spouse accepted joint patronage.
After Princess Marina died, the National Guild decided at its biennial National Conference in October 1969 to invite the Governor-General to become the patron of the National Guild. Since then successive Governors-General have accepted this position.
