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Our patrons
The RANZCP Foundation is supported by its patrons, Professor The Hon Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO (Australia) and Emeritus Professor Sir Mason Durie ONZ, KNZM.
Our patrons
Professor, The Hon Dame Marie Bashir
AD, CVO
Professor Bashir is the former Governor of New South Wales (2001-2014) and former Chancellor of the University of Sydney (2007-2012). She was NSW’s first female Governor.
Professor Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. After completion of postgraduate studies in psychiatry, she was made a Member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1971, becoming a Fellow in 1980. She has held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis on psychiatry. In 1993 Professor Bashir was appointed the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, a position she held until being appointed Governor on 1 March 2001.
However, over the years since then, she has maintained her participation in international health programs of collaboration in Vietnam with other colleagues from the University of Sydney. In 2001, Professor Bashir was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. In 2006, the Queen appointed her a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Professor Bashir was made a Dame of the Order of Australia "For extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit in service to the administration, public life, and people of New South Wales, to medicine, particularly as an advocate for improved mental health outcomes for the young, marginalised and disadvantaged, to international relations, through the promotion of collaborative health programs, and as a leader in tertiary education.
Professor Bashir is the former Governor of New South Wales (2001-2014) and former Chancellor of the University of Sydney (2007-2012). She was NSW’s first female Governor.
Professor Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. After completion of postgraduate studies in psychiatry, she was made a Member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1971, becoming a Fellow in 1980. She has held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis on psychiatry. In 1993 Professor Bashir was appointed the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, a position she held until being appointed Governor on 1 March 2001.
However, over the years since then, she has maintained her participation in international health programs of collaboration in Vietnam with other colleagues from the University of Sydney. In 2001, Professor Bashir was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. In 2006, the Queen appointed her a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Professor Bashir was made a Dame of the Order of Australia "For extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit in service to the administration, public life, and people of New South Wales, to medicine, particularly as an advocate for improved mental health outcomes for the young, marginalised and disadvantaged, to international relations, through the promotion of collaborative health programs, and as a leader in tertiary education.
Emeritus Professor, Sir Mason Durie
ONZ, KNZM
Sir Mason Durie has been at the forefront of a transformational approach to Māori health and has played major roles in building the Māori health workforce for more than 40 years.
Sir Mason has also championed higher education for Māori. He has provided national academic leadership for Māori and indigenous development in roles as Deputy Chair of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Professor of Māori Research and Development, and as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Massey University until 2012. He remains Emeritus Professor of Māori Research and Development at Massey University. His accomplishments include gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and negotiating the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships annually for students studying health-related subjects. He served on the Boards of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.
He has been Chair of the Guardians Group for the Secondary Futures project, and a Commissioner for the New Zealand Families Commission. He chaired the Ministerial Taskforce on Whānau Ora and was Chair of Te Kāhui Amokura, a Standing Committee of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee. As Chair of the Palmerston North based Tu Toa Trust, Mason helped establish two new secondary schools in Palmerston North.
His efforts have been recognised by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Public Health Association of New Zealand, the Māori Medical Practitioners Association, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, and the Polynesian Society. Sir Mason was appointed in 2019 as one of three inaugural Ruānuku by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence, and received the Blake Medal in 2017.Sir Mason was appointed as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori in 2001 and as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori health and public health services in 2010. The Queen awarded Sir Mason with the Order of New Zealand in the 2021 New Year Honours list for his services to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Sir Mason Durie has been at the forefront of a transformational approach to Māori health and has played major roles in building the Māori health workforce for more than 40 years.
Sir Mason has also championed higher education for Māori. He has provided national academic leadership for Māori and indigenous development in roles as Deputy Chair of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Professor of Māori Research and Development, and as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Massey University until 2012. He remains Emeritus Professor of Māori Research and Development at Massey University. His accomplishments include gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and negotiating the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships annually for students studying health-related subjects. He served on the Boards of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.
He has been Chair of the Guardians Group for the Secondary Futures project, and a Commissioner for the New Zealand Families Commission. He chaired the Ministerial Taskforce on Whānau Ora and was Chair of Te Kāhui Amokura, a Standing Committee of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee. As Chair of the Palmerston North based Tu Toa Trust, Mason helped establish two new secondary schools in Palmerston North.
His efforts have been recognised by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Public Health Association of New Zealand, the Māori Medical Practitioners Association, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, and the Polynesian Society. Sir Mason was appointed in 2019 as one of three inaugural Ruānuku by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence, and received the Blake Medal in 2017.Sir Mason was appointed as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori in 2001 and as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori health and public health services in 2010. The Queen awarded Sir Mason with the Order of New Zealand in the 2021 New Year Honours list for his services to Aotearoa New Zealand.
