Ann Peacock shares memories of her father Andrew Peacock before Friday’s state funeral

Ahead of the state funeral for former Liberal leader Andrew Peacock, his daughter Ann Peacock opens up on the man behind the politics.

Ann Peacock speaks to Rita Panahi about her beloved father ahead of the Commonwealth State Memorial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral at 11.30am on Friday.

What was it like growing up with Andrew Peacock as your father?

He was away a lot, but he never gave us the impression that he was away a lot. Because he would call us all the time or when you were (away), if you were to call him, he was always at the end of the phone. When we were at boarding school, he would come down every Sunday that he could on his one day off, if you’re in the country, and come and see us and take us out for lunch. He was always there.

Andrew Peacock with daughter Ann Peacock.

What did he think of the public perception of himself?

I think he laughed it off, it just so wasn’t him. He was never that perception that was made out of him to be, he was such a down to earth man. I’ve got photos of him. We had a farm in Bridgewater and he’d tuck in and do the hard work on the farm, hang on the beach with us. He was so much not that supposed ‘colt from Kooyong’. He was a very much down to earth man who really appreciated being able to have a good relationship with all that he met and a really hands-on father.

What would people be surprised to know about him?

I suppose it’s never been spoken about how good a friend he was. How devoted to his friendships, his family he was. Those sorts of things were not spoken about; it was him as the politician.

Andrew Peacock was devoted to his family and friends. Picture: Supplied

How were his relationships with these accomplished high profile women who he seemed to be good friends with?

Well his real love of his life was his wife, Penny. He enjoyed the most wonderful friendship with Shirley MacLaine. And that remained until the end, they had a great friendship. And she was marvellous to the three of us as well. But Penny was the love of his life.

Did he have intentions of returning to Australia after he moved to Texas?

Yes, he did want to return to Australia and Penny said that she would return with him if that’s what he wanted to do. It was really unfortunate for us as a family that he didn’t get the opportunity to do that.

Andrew Peacock’s state funeral is being held on Friday. Picture: Supplied

Give us a bit of an insight into Andrew Peacock the grandfather?

He chuckled, he thoroughly enjoyed the purpose of being a grandfather, which is to give love, to give guidance, and he was absolutely wonderful at doing that. They used to call him their favourite grandfather. They’d sign off from letters saying, ‘love from your favourite grandson’. Well, there’s three of them, but they’d all do it.

Turning to his political career, was there ever any bitterness or regret for just not making it to the ultimate office in the country as Prime Minister?

There is that famous quote: ‘I don’t think I ever wanted to be Prime Minister’. But I remember coming back from Perth the day before the election, and he said to us on the plane, just take a moment to remember this because this will never happen again. So he was realistic about the fate of the election. But we didn’t give up on him. A very large portion of Australians didn’t give up on him either. But as history is proven, just quite not enough to get him over the line.

Andrew Peacock during his time as Minister for the Army. Picture: Supplied

Is his time as Foreign Minister his greatest political legacy, having taken a really strong stand against the Khmer Rouge and the genocide there?

Well, without being able to ask him, I would answer that as yes. The work he did on the independence of Papua New Guinea was very much close to his heart. He got great satisfaction from representing his country.

His keen political instincts never left him, he was one of the very few to predict Donald Trump’s triumph in 2016 and he ended up winning a fair bit of money taking some enormous odds?

He loved a punt. I’m not too sure about the Donald Trump bit but he loved a punt and he would speak twice a week about whatever runners he was looking at for the quaddie back here in Australia.

Andrew Peacock loved a punt. Picture: Supplied

Which modern day politicians did he admire?

Well, I think it was so different back then. You could have beyond the opposition political sides, but you could still when time’s out when the bells rang you could still be friends. There’s that classic photo of him and Bob Hawke in the betting area at Flemington talking about which horse was going to win. It was different then, it wasn’t nasty. It was respectful once you were outside of parliament. So he obviously respected everyone that’s in Liberal positions at the moment. And he cared very deeply for Josh Frydenberg who was a great friend and used to check on dad every month or so. Just give him a call, say ‘how you doing? We miss you back here’, that sort of thing, and he obviously supported Josh’s role in running to the state of Kooyong.

Josh Frydenberg and Andrew Peacock. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

We’re not alone, and we’re not alone in not being able to have a service. So, so many people have been in the same predicament. They had their memorials, their funerals cancelled or only allowed a few people so I feel for them, and we’re no different. We’re exactly the same as so many people that have been in this position, and unfortunately, that’s because of Covid.

What will you miss most about him?

His love for me.