By Abbey Cannan
When Australia’s first female High Commissioner to South Africa, Ann Harrap, graduated from her Queensland University Arts/Law degrees, she originally planned on becoming a journalist.
That was until she took a year off to travel in South Africa, where she had a chance encounter with an Australian diplomat. After getting her head around the roles of embassies and high commissions, Ann decided to change career paths.
That fast decision was the starting point of Ann’s highly successful diplomatic career that would see her represent Australia’s interests in a number of different countries. She had many incredible experiences including meeting the likes of Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles and John Travolta, dancing some ‘terrible 80s moves’ with the then US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and discussing her favourite albums with Sir Richard Branson.
Ann said she first applied for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1991 along with over 4000 others and was lucky enough to be selected in the graduate intake of 25 people.
“As fate would have it, my first overseas posting was to South Africa and I ended up living in the house that I’d stayed in a few years earlier as a backpacker,” she said.
“I served in the department for 20 years working in Canberra, including in parliament house as an adviser to the then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, and overseas. My overseas postings included the UK, Iraq and PNG where I was the deputy High Commissioner.”
As High Commissioner to South Africa and six other African countries, Ann presented her credentials to two Kings and four Presidents, but she said she was most inspired by the resilience of local people, particularly women.
“Some of the living conditions in remote parts of Africa are almost too bleak to describe and yet there were these incredibly committed and professional people – community leaders, representatives of NGOs – helping to improve lives,” she said.
After completing her posting to South Africa, Ann decided to retire from DFAT and make the lifestyle move to the Sunshine Coast establishing her own independent consultancy.
“Through my consultancy I provide leadership and diplomacy training. I’ve done a lot of work with African and PNG students, particularly those on scholarships funded by the Australian Government. Sometimes the work is slightly out of left field – I went to Fiji as part of the Australian delegation to report on the recent elections – but my favourite work is facilitating conversations in workplaces about leadership and communication,” she said.
Growing up in Brisbane, Ann would holiday in Noosa with her family, so the region holds some special memories for her.
“One year my husband and I were holidaying in Noosa from Port Moresby and I had a broken foot. We were staying on Hastings Street and he went out one morning to buy the paper. He came back with a brochure for a house at Sunrise Beach and we bought it that afternoon. People say you should never buy property when on holidays and it did take us about eight years to finally move into our place – but it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made,” she said.
With International Women’s Day this week, Ann was the perfect person to be giving an inspirational speech to women of all ages at The Zonta Club of Noosa’s International Women’s Day breakfast on Friday 8 March.
“I’ve always been really impressed with the work that Zonta does, particularly here in our local community. But they also have a much broader international focus. I’ve seen first-hand the resilience of women in difficult environments so I’m delighted to support a non-government organisation that recognises the value of empowering women, including through education,” she said.
During Ann’s speech she will be sharing some of the many leadership lessons that she has learnt over the years.
“In particular, the message that you don’t need a title – like CEO or High Commissioner – to be a good leader. It’s not the labels that define us but rather the choices we make and the actions we take. No one calls me ‘Your Excellency’ any more but I would like to think that I am still leading a contribution in the Noosa community, including through my work with NoosaCare and Zonta,” Ann said.
“The other message is about not being disheartened if you don’t succeed straightaway or if things take longer to change than you would like. If I think about the poor representation of women at senior levels in both the public and private sector, I do get dispirited about the slow pace of change. I then remind myself how much things have moved on in the world of foreign affairs. Today we have a female Foreign Minister, a female head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and nearly 40 percent of our Embassies and High Commissions overseas are led by women.
“So, the message is don’t stop being an Ambassador for women – keep up the pressure until we see the equality, safety, recognition and respect that we deserve.”
Throughout her career of working in male-dominated environments, Ann learnt the best way to gain confidence is through preparation.
“You have so much more confidence if you are prepared and know what you’re doing. I would love to say that I have lots of natural talent but that wouldn’t be quite right. I was determined to have a successful career and I worked really hard to achieve it. Confidence comes with doing a good job,” she said.
Ann continues to be a leader contributing to the community, as she is currently Vice-President of the Board of Noosacare.
“I’ve been very lucky in my career and had some wonderful opportunities, including as a result of the generosity of others. I’ve managed large teams, worked with people from all walks of life, delivered on large projects and implemented budgets. I thought some of those skills would be helpful for a dynamic organisation like NoosaCare dealing with the increasing demand for aged care services in our region. I would also like to think that my work delivering aid programs in developing countries taught me something about care, encouragement and compassion – all of which are an intrinsic part of the NoosaCare culture. NoosaCare provides an incredible service at both Carramar and Kabara, helping people to age with dignity and choice, and we are well-recognised for our innovative approach to caring for people living with dementia. I only play a very small part in NoosaCare’s work alongside incredible staff and volunteers but it’s my way of continuing to make a contribution and repaying the generosity of others that I have experienced over the years,” Ann said.
