Minute by the Lord Mayor
To Council:
I wish to inform Council of the sudden
passing of Helena Carr, an accomplished businesswoman and wife of former NSW Premier
and Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, on 25 October 2023.
Helena was born in Perak, Malaysia. She was
the youngest of six children from a multicultural family, her father, Lourdes
was Indian and her mother, Regina was Chinese.
In 1965, at the age of 17, a fiercely
independent Helena convinced her parents to allow her to come to Sydney to
study at Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta. She then went on to major in
economics at the University of Sydney, where she was a resident at Sancta
Sophia College. This is where, as a fellow student and resident, I first met
Helena and knew her as an intelligent and warm young woman.
In 1971 while on holiday in Tahiti, Helena
met her future husband, Bob Carr, who noticed her sitting by the pool reading a
book by JK Galbraith, while he was on a stop over from the United States. They
married in February 1973. They often described their 50-year journey together
as a partnership in both public and private life, which reflects the strength
of their love and commitment to one another.
Helena was an accomplished and successful
businesswoman. She joined Leigh Mardon in 1976, first as a market research
officer and then as a product manager. She left in 1981 to join Amatil before
returning to Leigh Mardon, as a business development manager and then a
division manager, where she was responsible for a staff of 1,000. Later she
recalled that some of her staff were "quite frightened of me". But
the only people who really needed to be afraid, she added, were "those who
didn't perform". By the mid-1980s, she was the Managing Director of Leigh
Mardon.
Later, with business partner Max Turner,
Helena bought Merritt Madden Printing and Advanced Graphics, a commercial
printer producing prospectuses, annual reports, and trade magazines. In October
2004, she and Turner sold the business.
When her husband, Bob became Leader of the
Opposition in 1988, I got to know Helena again, meeting both at official
functions and regularly running into each other at Bill and Tony’s on Stanley
Street, where Helena and Bob, and my husband, Peter and I regularly had coffee
and breakfast before we started our day. At this time, I came to know her again
as a very intelligent and interesting person to talk to, a bright and warm
personality, who was always there in support of her partner, Bob.
Helena famously avoided the spotlight. She
was described by Edmund Capon, former director of the Art Gallery of NSW and
friend as "a tower of strength" but also a tower of
"discretion". Others described her as "the business brains of
the [Carr family] operation" and Bob said she “resist[ed] very strongly
any idea of [my] premature departure".
The public commitment to stand by Bob was
made easier by her commitment to her own career. The most important decision
she ever made was to avoid that dangerous intersection where her business life
might have met his politics.
She told the Sydney Morning Herald in 1988:
"A partner's interests must coincide with yours, but his occupation need
not do so." Independent, self-confident, and financially secure, she was
not reliant on Carr, or jealous of his limelight, but instead a steadfast
partner and supporter.
Helena died suddenly after losing
consciousness as a result of a brain aneurism while in Vienna, Austria, with
her husband of 50 years at her side.
Together with many others, I will remember
Helena for her charisma and charm, her ability to connect with people from all
walks of life, and as someone who genuinely cared, and who was always ready to
listen and offer support.
COUNCILLOR
CLOVER MOORE AO
Lord Mayor
Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –
It is resolved that:
(A)
all
persons attending this meeting of Council observe one minute's silence to
commemorate the life of Helena Carr and her enduring legacy as an independent,
intelligent, interesting and warm person, successful businesswoman and
steadfast partner and supporter of former NSW Premier, Bob Carr;
(B)
Council
express its condolences to Helena Carr's husband, Bob Carr and family; and
(C)
the
Lord Mayor convey Council's condolences to Bob Carr and his family.
Carried unanimously.
S051491
Note – the Lord Mayor acknowledged the presence of former NSW Premier
Bob Carr, who was viewing the Council meeting via the webcast.
Note – all Councillors, staff and member of the public present stood in
silence for one minute as a mark of respect to Helena Carr.