Helena Carr

Helena Carr (born September 1946) is an Australian businesswoman and the wife of former premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, Bob Carr. As of 2004 she had extensive holdings in Australian printing corporations making her a millionaire.

She was born Anne Helena John in Malaysia, the youngest of six children. In 1964, she came to Sydney to study at Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta. As economics was one of her strongest subjects, she majored in economics at the University of Sydney.

In 1972, she met Carr on a vacation in Tahiti and the two were married on February 24, 1973.

Bob Carr became Federal President of Young Labor shortly after. Helena Carr started a successful business career and by the 1980s, she was the Managing Director of Leigh Marden, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Amatil managing a thousand staff. In 1992, her bid to buy Offset Alpine for a sum approaching AU$15 million was unsuccessful, losing out to a syndicate headed by Rene Rivkin.

She and Max Turner later bought Merritt Madden Printing and Advanced Graphics, a high-quality commercial printer producing prospectuses, annual reports, and trade magazines. In October 2004, she and Turner sold the business to the New Zealand company Blue Star Print Group and she became a multi-millionaire as a result.

Helena Carr kept a low political profile with the exception of the 2003 state election where she appeared in advertisements for her husband. The Carrs do not have children. Helena regularly attended Mass while Bob appears to be an atheist.

In August 2005, Bob Carr resigned as Premier after consulting Helena. Helena Carr is currently working as a consultant to Blue Star.

At the end of July, 2005, Opposition Leader John Brogden drunkenly accused Mrs. Carr of being a "mail-order bride." He was subsequently forced to apologise and resign in late August, 2005. While initially reluctant to accept his apology, the Carrs forgave him following his attempted self harm.

References

* Crown Content "Who's Who in Australia 2005", North Melbourne page 379
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/major-supporting-act/2005/07/29/1122144024636.html "Sydney Morning Herald" article on Helena Carr published July 30 2005]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/07/27/1122143910466.html "Sydney Morning Herald" article on Helena Carr]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/23/1098474928459.html?from=storylhs] "Sydney Morning Herald article on the sale of Merritt Madden
* [http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:h_MDzmYQQ78J:www.melbourneobserver.com.au/ob040602.pdf++%22Helena+Carr%22+Alpine+Offset&hl=en&client=firefox-a "Melbourne Observer" Media Flash column, June 2 2004 page 7 on unsuccessful bid for Alpine Offset]

Further reading

* Helena Dodkin "Bob Carr: the Reluctant Leader", University of NSW Press 2003 ISBN 0-86840-757-7
* Andrew West and Rachel Morris, "Bob Carr: a Self-Made Man" Harper Collins Pymble NSW 2003 ISBN 0-7322-7750-7