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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 81 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

In recent years Edna Ryan lived in Canberra. Her daughter, Julia Ryan, served the ACT as the convenor of the second Women's Consultative Council appointed by the Follett Government. I extend the ACT Government's sympathy to Julia and Lyndall and Patrick and their families. Edna Ryan was certainly a great woman and somebody who will be sadly missed.

MS REILLY: On 10 February 1997 Australia lost a great woman. I think all women in Australia have benefited from the work of Edna Ryan. Through her commitment to women, and to equal wages and working conditions for women, we have all benefited. Her attitude to life, however, can be seen from her arrangements for her own funeral. Not everybody is as organised as she was to ensure that the funeral went the way that she wanted. I think all of us who were gathered there last Friday would benefit from the fact that it was not called a funeral; it was called a "Celebration and Farewell". I would like to quote her words, her message to all of us as her farewell gift:

I would like to thank all the men and women, people in all walks of life who gave me help and information. I found the formerly unknown circles of academia and the very much maligned bureaucracy and government institutions very responsive. I consider myself lucky to have worked with excellent colleagues, particularly in the Women's Electoral Lobby who put so much trust in me. Don't mourn but rejoice as I've had a good innings as my mother would say. Not able to work any more, I prefer to leave. Thank you all for brightening my life, especially my children, and Margaret. I love you all very much.

She also left bequests to many organisations which fit with her lifelong work. There are several things arising from what was said last Friday and her work that I would like to mention. One of the things mentioned by one of the women I spoke to was Edna's gift of friendship. She was not just interested in doing dry work and working to ensure equal wages for women but she was friends with a whole range of people, in all walks of life and of all ages. She did not work just for herself; she worked for all women and encouraged women to take up work, to take up public life and a commitment to improving the lot of the community. One of the women who spoke last Friday, Susan Ryan, who was a senator for the ACT for a number of years and also one of the first Federal Labor Cabinet Ministers, spoke about her friendship with Edna over the years and the encouragement she received from Edna to get involved in public life. I am sure there are a number of other examples of how Edna encouraged other women. She worked hard to ensure that all women became more committed. There are comments in Eva Cox's book Leading Women on her relationship and friendship with Edna Ryan.

Edna Ryan was a family person and at the funeral last week her son Patrick spoke of her large family of sisters and their relationship and the family life that all the children were able to experience although Edna went to work, because she had to, at a very early age in the life of her son Patrick. In fact, Patrick was only three when she went to work and they put his age up to five and put him into school. Patrick said there was not a problem with this, but when he turned up at Sydney Boys High School at nine they did question how old he was.

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