An Evening with Avril Henry AM

The official Canberra launch of Not All Diamonds Are Worn

You’re invited to join Avril Henry AM for the Canberra launch of her powerful new memoir, Not All Diamonds Are Worn. 

“I was called difficult, disruptive, too direct, too political, too much. I was also trusted, sought out, and invited into rooms where decisions were made.”

A diamond’s brilliance is not added from the outside. It is revealed by pressure, time and what is cut away.

Avril Henry was born in apartheid South Africa, in Kimberley, the City of Diamonds, where worth was measured by compliance – and a girl was told exactly where she did and did not belong. Avril was raised to stay in line. She spent her life crossing it! She saw exactly who the rules protected, who they harmed, who they erased – and pushed against it. This is her story.

Walking away from apartheid South Africa at 22 with 2 suitcases, $500, a forbidden love, and no plan to return – trading everything familiar for the chance of a fairer life. A front row in the fight for gender equality and equity – and a lifetime spent making a case for women’s right to lead without apology. A corporate career, self-employment, single motherhood, a cancer diagnosis, grief, and the hard-won joy of starting again, proof that a life can be remade more than once.

In conversation with LTGEN Cheryl Pearce CSC AO

Avril will be joined by special guest speaker Lieutenant General Cheryl Pearce, the Acting Military Advisor for the Department of Peace Operations, United Nations Headquarters. LTGEN Pearce has a distinguished career in the Australian Defence Force, having held command and senior positions, as the Deputy Chief of Army and Commandant of ADFA.

She deployed as part of the UN in East Timor (2002), and as the Australian Commander Task Group in Afghanistan (2016), and from 2019 – 2021, LTGEN Pearce was the Force Commander, UN Forces in Cyprus and the first female officer in the world to do so.

The conversation will be followed by a Q&A, book signing and an opportunity to catch up with Avril.

Your ticket includes

• Canapés & drinks
• A signed hardcover copy of Not All Diamonds Are Worn, valued at $55
• An intimate conversation with Avril Henry AM and Lt. General Cheryl Pearce CSC AO
• Audience Q&A
• The opportunity to have your book personally inscribed by Avril, plus photographs

Supporting regional women

All profits from the sale of Not All Diamonds Are Worn will be donated to the Avril Henry & Associates Scholarship at Country Universities Centre Southern Shoalhaven in Ulladulla, NSW.

The scholarship supports a female mature-age student, aged 25 or over in a regional area and undertaking tertiary study for the first time, by contributing towards her university or TAFE costs from the 2027 academic year.

Event details

Date: Thursday 29th October 2026
Time: 6:00–8:00 pm
Venue: Old Parliament House
Address: 18 King George Terrace, Parkes

Doors open at 6:00 pm, with drinks and canapés served in the Members Bar before guests move into the Dining Room for the official part for the evening.

Please provide any dietary requirements when purchasing your ticket.

Your signed hardcover book will be available for collection at the launch.

Tickets are limited and advance bookings are essential.