Opposition Leader Sussan Ley farewells ‘extraordinary’ mother Angela Braybrooks

The Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has farewelled her late mum, crediting her with teaching her “the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence”.

Sussan Ley has honoured her late mother Angela Mary Braybrooks as an intrepid and loving mother from humble beginnings, in a touching ceremony held in her home town of Albury.

The intimate service at St Matthew’s Church on Friday morning mirrored the funeral of the Opposition Leader’s father Edgar Braybrooks who died in 2020, with Ms Ley acknowledging her parents were “together again”.

Ms Baybrooks died aged 93 just days after Ms Ley became the first woman to win the federal Liberal leadership, with Ms Ley acknowledging the “gift of fate” that allowed her one final Mother’s Day with her mum.

Sussan Ley arrived at the church alongside her son Paul and her grandchildren. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

Liberal senators Michaelia Cash and Anne Ruston, and Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, attended the funeral. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

Ms Ley walked into the church alongside her son Paul, while holding the hand of her five-year-old granddaughter Sage.

Senior Coalition figures including Michaelia Cash, Anne Ruston, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack also attended the service.

Like her father’s funeral, the ceremony was bookended by bagpipes, while her mother’s casket was adorned in an array of pink stargazer lilies, orange roses and magenta gerberas.

Gathering herself mid-eulogy, Ms Ley spoke of the loss she felt following the death of her parents, and thanked her mother for lessons in resilience and tenacity.

Sussan Ley delivered the eulogy honouring her late mother Angela Braybrooks. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

“When you’ve lost both of your parents, it feels as if the roof has lifted off your world,” she said.

“As I sat quietly last weekend, in a precious window of time, going through my mother’s papers, letters and photographs, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the things she taught me: patience, persistence and self reliance, how to lift your eyes and without fear, take on the world.

“I think of my own grandmother, stoic in the face of so much wartime and personal hardship, insisting that Angela, her only child, leave England for a chance at a better life. And I think of my inquisitive five year old granddaughter and the unbroken chain of strength and love that connects three generations of women.”

Ms Ley said she ‘felt a deep sense of gratitude’ to her mother for teaching her ‘patience, persistence and self reliance’. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

The ceremony mirrored elements from Ms Ley’s father’s funeral in 2020. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

The service took place at St Matthew’s Church in Albury. Picture: Simon Dallinger/ NewsWire

Ms Ley described the “difficult years” of her mother’s youth, where she said the family had “very little money and what there was spent on candles and incense, not food”.

“As Angela explains, her father suffered from manic depression, now called bipolar disorder, but of course, in those days, there was not a lot of awareness for it,” Ms Ley said.

“Everyone thought he was just being difficult.”

Following her training as a mental health nurse, Ms Braybrooks later “forgave” her father after realising he had clinical depression which was exacerbated by his experiences fighting on the Western Front in World War One.

She also spoke about her parents’ 61-year marriage, after they met “through a mysterious woman who ran a dating service”.

Ms Ley said her parents went on “four coffee dates” before her father, who returned to Nigeria, asked her mother to move and marry him.

“She said yes. She was gone in three weeks, leaving on a Monday with a homemade dress, two wedding rings and the wedding cake for a wedding on the Saturday,” she said.

Angela Braybrooks died on May 17, just days after Sussan Ley became the first woman to win the Liberal leadership. Picture: Supplied,

Ms Braybrooks was also described as a compassionate psychiatric nurse, an enthusiastic rookie astronomer and bird watcher, who led a “traditional but also unconventional” life.

“She strove to be her authentic self,” Ms Ley said.

Following the death of her mum, Ms Ley thanked staff at the Riverwood Aged Care Facility, where Ms Braybrooks was receiving end of life care.

In her eulogy on Friday, Ms Ley joked her mum had become known for “speaking her mind,” and thanked the workers for their care.

“Sometimes this became a bit much for the staff, on the receiving end, particularly as they dealt with her ancient cat,” Ms Ley said.

“But she would calm down, feel bad, and then say to me, they do a really good job in here. And they do.

“I will miss them all as much as they will miss Angela.”