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Florence Bjelke-Petersen

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Lady
Florence Bjelke-Petersen
On her wedding day, 31 May 1952
Senator for Queensland
In office
12 March 1981 – 30 June 1993
Preceded byGlen Sheil
Succeeded byJohn Woodley
Personal details
Born
Florence Isabel Gilmour

(1920-08-11)11 August 1920
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died20 December 2017(2017-12-20) (aged 97)
Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia
Political partyNational
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1952⁠–⁠2005)​
Children4

Florence Isabel Bjelke-Petersen (née Gilmour; 11 August 1920 – 20 December 2017) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1981 to 1993, and was the wife of the longest-serving Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. She was styled as Lady Bjelke-Petersen upon her husband's knighthood, and was also known informally as Lady Flo.[1]

Early life

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Florence Isabel Gilmour was born in Brisbane, as the eldest of two daughters of James Pollock Gilmour, an accountant and company secretary, and his wife Florence Mabel (née Low).[2] She was raised at the Brisbane riverside suburb of New Farm.[2] She started her schooling at the New Farm State School, and later attended the prestigious Brisbane Girls' Grammar School.[2] She was employed as a private secretary to the Queensland Commissioner for Main Roads when she met Johannes Bjelke-Petersen, who was then a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.[2] They were married on 31 May 1952 at the Fortitude Valley Presbyterian Church.[3][4][5]

Career

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Bjelke-Petersen was preoccupied with home duties until well after Joh Bjelke-Petersen became Premier in 1968. In the 1970s, however, she assumed an increasingly public role, as part of the Queensland National Party's increasing promotion of a Bjelke-Petersen "personality cult". Her simple, homespun sayings and her recipes and affection for pumpkin scones were often associated with her in the media.[6]

At the 1980 federal election, against the wishes of party president Robert Sparkes, Joh Bjelke-Petersen arranged for his wife to be placed in the number one position on the National Party's Queensland senate ticket, ensuring her election. Her term was due to commence on 1 July 1981, however, on 6 February 1981, Queensland Senator Glen Sheil resigned, creating a casual vacancy.[7] She was appointed on 12 March 1981 for the remainder of Sheil's term, and then continued into her own term.

Bjelke-Petersen crossed the floor 18 times during her career, the 12th-most of any MP between 1950 and 2019 and the second-most by a woman after Kathy Sullivan.[8]

Knighthood

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When Joh Bjelke-Petersen was knighted in 1984, Flo Bjelke-Petersen became Lady Bjelke-Petersen, and was officially known as "Senator Lady Bjelke-Petersen". She was frequently referred to as "Lady Florence" or "Lady Flo".[9]

Later career

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She was re-elected at the 1983 and 1987 elections (both double dissolutions), and her term expired on 30 June 1993, when she decided to retire.[2]

Death

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On 20 December 2017, Bjelke-Petersen died at the age of 97 after suffering a short illness. She died in Kingaroy at Orana Aged Care where she had resided since August 2014.[10][11] Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk offered to hold a state funeral which was accepted by their son John Bjelke-Petersen. It was held in the Kingaroy Town Hall.[12][13]

Cookbook publication

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She published a cookbook which included her recipe for her trademark pumpkin scones.[14]

References

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  1. ^ ABC Radio interview transcript Archived 22 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d e Stevenson, Brian. "BJELKE-PETERSEN, Florence Isabel (1920– )". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Joh and Flo Bjelke-Petersen on their wedding day, 1952". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  4. ^ ""Shock to the boys"". The Courier-mail. No. 4713. Queensland, Australia. 5 January 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Family Notices". Brisbane Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 5 January 1952. p. 6 (LAST RACE). Retrieved 4 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Sarah McInerney (5 May 2011). "How to bake the perfect scone". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  7. ^ Australian Biography interview with Flo
  8. ^ McKeown, Deirdre; Lundie, Rob (12 March 2020). "Crossing the floor in the federal parliament 1950–April 2019". Australian Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ Miller, Simon (21 December 2018). "Lady Flo". John Oxley Library blog. State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen, former senator and Queensland first lady, dies at 97". ABC News. 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Lady Flo a 'strong force, never to be forgotten'". 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  12. ^ Bali, Meghna (22 December 2017). "Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen's family welcomes state funeral offer". ABC News. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  13. ^ Vujkovic, Melanie (4 January 2018). "'End of an era': Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen farewelled at state funeral". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  14. ^ Lady Flo's simple pumpkin scones Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
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