Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to pay tribute to a lady well known to many in the Liberal Party in New South Wales: Gloria Martin, who passed away on 7 September at the age of 92 years. I was fortunate to see Gloria the day before she passed. I took her hand and said, 'Gloria, its Connie.' A movement of her hand told me she had recognised me. I was glad to have been able to say goodbye to a woman who had been one of my most loyal supporters.

I first met Gloria in the early 1990s when I joined the Liberal Party. As former Prime Minister John Howard said at her funeral, 'There'll never be another Gloria.' In delivering the eulogy to Gloria entitled 'My party, my country' Janice Photios started with these words:

Gloria Martin, a woman of strong beliefs, convictions and moral fortitude, was characteristically defined by her passionate love and fierce loyalty to her Liberal Party and her country Australia.

A woman of inner strength and dignity, Gloria had an energy and a zest for life which left others half her age in her wake, and her love of country was infectious and her loyalty to others unsurpassed.

Janice aptly described Gloria as 'a pint-size pocket rocket', and that she was. All of four foot, nine inches, Gloria didn't pull any punches when she was having a go at someone. As Janice said:

She stood by her principles no matter what others thought. She wore her heart on her sleeve and called a spade a spade.

Gloria Harriett Evlyn Martin was born in Cairns, Queensland as the only daughter of Evlyn Erly Martin and George Maurice Martin on 19 March 1927. She was the youngest of three children, having two older brothers. Later, the family moved to Townsville where Gloria spent her formative years. When Gloria was just 10, her mother died. Her brother Joffre and his wife took Gloria in, sadly, after her father had abandoned her.

At 18 years of age Gloria caught a bus to Sydney, boarded in Parramatta and found herself a job. She gained employment at Le Toumeau Westinghouse in Rydalmere, an American manufacturer of heavy-duty earthmoving equipment, where she spent the bulk of her professional career as a bookkeeper and secretary to the accountant. She was a hard worker and became a very well respected employee.

In 1950, she married Sidney Martin—she didn't have to change all the paperwork—whom she had met at a dance at the Masonic Centre in Eastwood. He was handsome and dashing and it was reputedly love at first sight. They married in St Alban's Anglican Church, Epping, the same church where Gloria's funeral was held on 27 September. They were married for 47 years, until Sid passed away in 1997. After her retirement from Westinghouse, Gloria became a self-employed businesswoman. With her flair for decorating and gift-wrapping, she started a card and gift shop in the West Ryde, which she owned and operated for 17 years.

In 1987 Gloria joined the Liberal Party after she met Stella Wilson, a matriarch of the party in the area. Gloria eventually became secretary of the Eastwood south branch in 2001. She served as secretary for the Bennelong conference for 12 years. For over a decade, she worked as a volunteer in the office of John Howard, doing whatever tasks needed to be done. Indeed, Mr Howard said at the funeral:

I didn't have a more loyal, energetic, conscientious Liberal Party supporter in my electorate branch as in Gloria Martin.

She was a keen fundraiser. Her events were always well attended. She had a great ability to extract raffle prizes from businesses. It was difficult to say no to Gloria. All those prizes and gifts were beautifully wrapped and presented to the winners.

Gloria was an avid letter writer. Notwithstanding she had little formal education, she had a sharp mind and a great memory. She argued her point forcefully. She was very well informed. Her letters were handwritten compositions of beautiful copperplate handwriting. She also made handwritten copies for her records. The last letter I got from Gloria was dated 20 March 2019. I had sent Gloria flowers on her birthday. Whilst the letter was to thank me, it was a good opportunity to put forward her thoughts on issues she was concerned about. She wrote:

I must congratulate your staff, they passed my message on for you to ring me and you did which I appreciated, very rare these days, I can assure you, the inefficiency in all the offices these days is most annoying, phone calls are not returned, they cannot answer a letter, if lucky, it is from a Staffer and full of nonsense and makes no sense. I wrote to one state Politician in January, 2018 rang his office for, five (5) months without success.

As you know, I only want to help the Liberal people for the best interest of the State and Federal and my country, being a proud Australian, but at times, it is not easy, believe me.

Gloria was a tireless worker. Despite her age and some physical constraints, she was determined to carry on as long as she could. As Janice told us at the funeral:

The country needed her.

Someone had to keep these politicians, on both sides, on their toes.

To the very end, she loved, respected, worked tirelessly for and fought for the Liberal Party and for Australia.

Former Prime Minister Howard summarised Gloria when he said:

There'll never be somebody who could quite capture that simple, direct, often beguiling but never bewildered personality, who understood what she believed in, believed what was right for Australia, and was absolutely determined to ensure that anybody she could influence never strayed from the straight and narrow path.

Once you were seen as having a little bit of influence in the community, or in a Liberal Party Branch or in any organisation that you were associated with, Gloria Martin made absolutely certain that you remained in her gunsights, and pity help you if you got out of line or left the reservation.

You would get initially a letter, then you'd get a few phone calls, and then if that failed you'd get sort of a shout during a phone call to the Alan Jones or Ray Hadley Show.

That was the sort of three pronged attack from which Gloria was absolutely famous.

On another occasion, the thank you note to me was the opportunity to include the following PS:

Connie, get rid of 18C, no same sex marriage and tell Nick Xenophon to pull his head in.

Classic Gloria!

She was an avid listener of 2GB, a keen contributor and a regular talkback caller. The radio was always on in case she needed to call in to counter some political point that was being made. She was direct and to the point. She spoke articulately and with conviction. It was a testimony to her standing in the party that the pallbearers included New South Wales Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections and member for Lane Cove, the Hon. Anthony Roberts, and member for Wollondilly, Nathaniel Smith.

Of course, at the funeral we sang God Save the Queen. A staunch monarchist, she was a woman of conservative views and tradition. She was also a woman of faith. As Janice mentioned in the eulogy, Gloria asked her visitors to Ryde Hospital to pray for her.

Gloria had three loves in her life: her husband, Sid, her country and the Liberal Party. Her commitment to all three was the guiding force of her life. I know I speak for many people in the Liberal Party, most especially those in the Ryde and Bennelong area, in paying respect to Gloria for her contribution to her country and her party.

In closing, I acknowledge the friendship and support given to Gloria by Mike Beinke and Robert Duic, the co-executors of her estate, and their respective families. Her funeral was attended by former Prime Minister John Howard and Mrs Janette Howard, by members of state and federal parliaments, by party officials and by many in the Liberal family. This was a testimony to the respect in which Gloria was held by so many. We remembered her as the feisty and very direct pocket rocket who always spoke her mind. She will be well remembered by many in the Liberal Party. Vale Gloria Harriett Evlyn Martin.