Gentlemen's clubs snub female governor general
Ms Bryce is one of a number of women holding high office who have been barred entry by the clubs. Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images
Friday September 26 2008
Australia's new governor-general has been refused membership of some of the country's most exclusive clubs -- because she is a woman.
Quentin Bryce has been shunned by the clubs despite their tradition of offering honorary membership to those in high office.
Ms Bryce, who recently became the first woman to hold the post of governor- general, should have expected automatic membership of clubs such as the Athenaeum Club in Melbourne, and The Australian Club in Sydney.
The 140-year-old Athenaeum, which describes itself on its website as "enlightened and contemporary", has not invited Ms Bryce to join, although its constitution offers honorary membership to "people in positions of distinction or attainment, including the Governor-General of Australia"
Similarly, The Australian Club in Melbourne and the country's oldest and largest men's club, also called The Australian, in Sydney, have not offered her membership.
Ms Bryce is one of a number of women holding high office who have been barred entry by the clubs, which traditionally also offer membership to state governors and senior members of the judiciary.
The governors of two states, Marie Bashir, in New South Wales, and Penelope Wensley in Queensland, have not been invited to join any of the establishments. The Athenaeum is currently embroiled in a row over its ban on women. (©The Times, London)
- Anne Barrowclough
