Opposition Leader Sussan Ley paid heartfelt tribute to her late mother, Angela Mary Braybrooks, during a moving funeral service in her hometown of Albury on Friday.
The intimate ceremony at St Matthew’s Church mirrored the funeral of Ms Ley’s father, Edgar Braybrooks, who passed away in 2020. Reflecting on the occasion, Ms Ley noted her parents were now “together again.” Angela Braybrooks passed away at age 93, just days after Ms Ley became the first woman to lead the federal Liberal Party—an event Ms Ley described as a “gift of fate” that allowed her one final Mother’s Day with her mother.
Ley entered the church accompanied by her son Paul and granddaughter Sage. The service was attended by senior Coalition figures, including Michaelia Cash, Anne Ruston, Barnaby Joyce, and Michael McCormack. The ceremony began and ended with the sound of bagpipes, and Ms Braybrooks’ casket was adorned with vibrant pink lilies, orange roses, and magenta gerberas.
In her eulogy, Ley spoke with emotion about the deep sense of loss after losing both parents. She expressed gratitude for her mother’s lessons in resilience and determination, recalling moments of quiet reflection spent going through old 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,” she said.
Ley also shared stories of her mother’s challenging childhood, noting the family lived in poverty and her grandfather struggled with untreated bipolar disorder, then called manic depression. Angela would later forgive her father after becoming a mental health nurse and understanding his condition was worsened by trauma from World War I.
Ms Ley recounted how her parents met through a matchmaker and fell in love quickly, with her mother agreeing to move to Nigeria after just four coffee dates. She left England with a handmade dress, wedding rings, and a cake—marrying her husband within a week.
Angela Braybrooks was remembered not only as a dedicated psychiatric nurse but also as an amateur astronomer, birdwatcher, and someone who lived a “traditional but also unconventional” life. “She strove to be her authentic self,” Ms Ley said.
Ley also thanked staff at the Riverwood Aged Care Facility, where her mother spent her final days. She humorously recalled her mother’s candid nature and how it sometimes tested the staff, especially when caring for her elderly cat.
“She would calm down, feel bad, and then say to me, ‘They do a really good job in here.’ And they do,” Ley said. “I will miss them all as much as they will miss Angela.”
