From scones to the Senate
Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen is still remembered for her unique approach to life and politics.
Celebrating 50 Years, 50 Lives
In the lead-up to National Seniors Australia's 50th anniversary in 2026, Connect is sharing the stories of 50 people who have made contributions to the organisation over those years.
Although proudly non-partisan, National Seniors Australia (NSA) has long worked with politicians of all stripes to achieve great outcomes for our members, no matter who happens to be in power.
Many politicians have allied themselves with NSA by listening to, and acting upon, our advocacy and attending our events.
Among them have been many notable names, stretching right back to NSA’s beginnings as Later Years, which was officially launched by Dame Enid Lyons, who is profiled here.
When it came to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the organisation in 1986, another notable woman in politics, Senator Lady Florence “Flo” Bjelke-Petersen, was the guest of honour.
The event was held at the Riverside Ballroom in Brisbane, and Later Years’ The Good Life magazine reported at the time that Lady Flo “enjoyed herself as much as we enjoyed having her with us”.
It was an especially important occasion, as Lady Flo was named Later Years’ inaugural Senior Australian of the Year.
As part of the award, she was asked to nominate a charity to which Later Years would donate $1,000 in her name. She nominated the Blue Nurses (now known as Blue Care), whose grateful general manager, Trevor Owen, was on hand to accept the cheque.
For many years, Lady Flo was best known as the loyal wife of longtime Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen and for her popular recipe for pumpkin scones.
In fact, she had had a 15-year career in the public service, culminating in a stint as secretary to the Main Roads Commissioner in Brisbane, even before her marriage and move to the Bjelke-Petersen peanut farm in Kingaroy in southern Queensland’s South Burnett region.
While he was spending most of his time in Brisbane running the state, she was back home running the family farming business.
Lady Flo well and truly stepped out on her own and onto the national stage when she entered Federal Parliament.
She was elected to the Senate in 1980 and, although not due to enter the chamber until 1 July 1981, she was appointed to fill the casual vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Glen Shiel in February and served in that capacity until taking up a seat in her own right.
She was deputy leader of the National Party in the Senate from 1985-1990 and retired in 1993. Although her time in the Senate was spent largely in Opposition, she remained popular among Queensland voters and was a valued guest speaker at events around the country.
Lady Flo reportedly “paid a high tribute” to Later Years at that function in July 1986, which was also attended by the organisation’s staff and business partners and many branch members from greater Brisbane and Toowoomba.
She died in a care home in Kingaroy on 20 December 2017, and her state funeral was held in Kingaroy Town Hall.
In an interview for a documentary by the Australian National Film and Sound Archive, Lady Flo said: “I’ve always said that after I became a senator, I hoped that they remembered me first for being a senator who just happened to make pumpkin scones.”
