“My Country Childhood Made Me​​​​​​​ Who I Am”

Dame Quentin Bryce was raised in remote, rural Ilfracombe and has a deep love of the bush. On a trip down memory lane she takes Juliet Rieden to the landmark town of Winton, where her parents met, and talks to the proud locals who wouldn’t live anywhere else.

- Dame Quentin Bryce

As Governor of Queensland, Quentin Bryce – pre Damehood – was a rural frequent flyer, darting about the skies in small planes buffeted on hot air pockets, visiting the far corners of the State. And whenever she flew over her hometown of Ilfracombe in the Central West, “I would ask the pilot to fly low and dip the wing in an aerial salute and all the locals would come out and wave,” Quentin says, her eyes actually twinkling as she recalls the memory.

“My heart really does belong to the bush. It had such an influence on me, it gave me a sense of identity, of happiness,” she explains.“A Queensland politician once said to me, ‘You romanticise the bush’. I was annoyed and I found it quite offensive, because it’s more than just indulging in country nostalgia. My bush childhood made me who I am.”

We are chatting on one of those small planes, having just taken off from Winton after a glorious few days during which Dame Quentin introduced The Weekly to real country life. Back in 1936, Quentin’s mum, Naida, was a teacher in the Winton primary school – today it’s still a vibrant centre of learning for the local children. She met Quentin’s dad, Norman Strachan, who managed the wool scours – now long gone – and fell in love. “Winton is the beginning of our family’s life,” Quentin muses.