Prudence Anne Leggoe (née Turnor; formerly Sibree; born 7 August 1946) is former

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

.Profile at the Parliament of Victoria
/ref> Sibree was educated at (Chalgrove Girls Grammar School, run by Georgina Prior, 1100 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill),

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Strathcona Girls Grammar School is an independent, Baptist, day school for girls, located in Canterbury, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1924 by Florence Livingstone and Henrietta Hughes, the s ...

and

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

where she gained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

.Australian Woman Biographical Entry- Sibree, Prudence Anne (1946 -)
(accessed 2008-06-07) Upon graduation from university, Sibree worked as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, eventually establishing her own law firm, Prue Sibree & Co. She joined the Young Liberal Movement in 1968 and served as its vice-president in 1970. She married her first husband, Mark Sibree, in 1969. In 1981 Sibree won the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

caused by the retirement of former Premier Sir Rupert Hamer in the district of Kew. She was only the fourth person to hold the seat since its creation in 1927. She spent six months as a government backbencher before her party was defeated by Victorian Labor in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, and spent the rest of her tenure in opposition. While she was the seat's first member who never served in cabinet, she held a number of opposition frontbench posts, serving variously as Secretary to Shadow Cabinet, shadow minister for Early Childhood Development, Youth and Women's Affairs and shadow minister for Further Education Training and Employment. In 1983 Sibree's first marriage ended in divorce. In December 1987 she married John Leggoe, and retired from politics a couple of months later. Fellow Liberal

Jan Wade Jan Louise Murray Wade (née Noone; born 8 July 1937) is an Australian former politician. She was born in Sydney to John Murray Noone and Lillian, ''née'' Knight. She attended Sydney High School and Firbank Girls' Grammar School in Melbour ...

retained the seat in the resulting by-election. After leaving Parliament she pursued her career as corporate lawyer in public companies and privatising industries, working as a lawyer and government and regulatory manager. She served for a time as Acting Chancellor of

Victoria University of Technology Victoria University (VU or Vic Uni) is an Australian public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a dual-sector university, providing courses in both higher education and technical and further education (TAFE). The university h ...

. On retiring from paid employment Prue and her second husband John Leggoe spent 6 years cruising their yacht from Australia to the Mediterranean, and travelled extensively. On returning to Australia she moved to Brisbane where she successfully established Dress for Success Brisbane, which supports long term unemployed women to be better prepared for work and employment through mentoring support, personal development programs and work-appropriate clothing. This led to Dress for Success programs being established in major cities around Australia. She was awarded an OAM in the Australia Day honours in 2019. She now lives in the Northern Rivers of NSW.

References

1946 births Living people Politicians from Melbourne Melbourne Law School alumni Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub