The woman marshalling NSW’s response to Covid-19 used to work in a furniture shop and was once threatened in the street by a thug.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant was born in Punchbowl in Sydney’s south-west and attended Danebank Anglican School for Girls in Hurstville.
As a young woman, she worked at Mr Whippy in Roselands, at Grace Bros (which became Myer) in the furniture department and then in a pharmacy before studying medicine at the University of NSW.
The moment Dr Chant told NSW: ‘I grew up in Punchbowl and had the privilege of working in south-western Sydney’, she became a hero in the city’s south-west.
And also a TikTok star, with a purple-trakkie wearing Dr Chant rapping: ‘I grew up in Punchbowl’ … ‘who run this city?’
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant (pictured receiving her award in March) was named the Premier’s Woman of the Year
Dr Chant said these jobs taught her a ‘respect for money’, adding: ‘It was a lot of hard slog standing up all day’.
‘I actually didn’t know what I wanted to be,’ Dr Chant told The Australian in an interview this week.
‘I did do a year of pharmacy before I transferred to medicine. I’ve always been drawn to health and sciences.’
Dr Chant, now a married mother of three, completed a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1987, a Masters in Health Administration in 1991 and another Masters in Public Health in 1995.
She directed the Public Health Unit of Sydney South West Area Health Service between 1995 and 2005 and became the state’s Chief Health Officer in 2008.
In 2013, Dr Chant was threatened after she provided a submission to Lismore Council about the benefits of adding fluoride to water.
The council reversed a ban on the chemical and one anti-fluoride protester threatened Dr Chant with Sarin gas in the car park after the meeting.
‘We know your face, I have friends in Syria, do you know of Sarin gas,’ the protester reportedly told her.
A class photo from 1980 shows a teenage Kerry Chant (second right in second row) smiling for the camera alongside fellow pupils at Danebank Anglican School for Girls in Hurstville, Sydney’s south
As a young woman, Dr Chant worked at Mr Whippy in Roselands, at Grace Bros in the furniture department and then in a pharmacy before studying medicine at UNSW
Lismore paediatrician Dr Chris Ingall said Chant handled the situation ‘professionally, calmly and expertly’, reported the Daily Telegraph.
‘We walked away and that’s when she started screaming abuse at us,’ he said.
Dr Chant has been working flat-out during the Covid-19 pandemic, regularly pulling 12-hour days.
She has morning meetings with Premier Gladys Berejiklian and then appears at an 11am press conference to reveal the state’s new infection numbers.
In one presser last week, Dr Chant said the increased workload has taken a toll on her family life.
Dr Chart (right) has morning meetings with Premier Gladys Berejiklian (left) and then appears at an 11am press conference to reveal the state’s new infection numbers
Talking about the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine, she revealed she has not seen much of her husband recently.
‘I have had AstraZeneca. My husband – who I do care for dearly but has not seen much of me – had his first dose of AstraZeneca,’ she said.
But in the little time off she has, Dr Chant enjoys gardening and spending time around nature.
‘I love gardening and I like orchids. I just think they’re such a beautiful plant. I love their diversity, I love the colours, and the intricacies of the veins in the petals,’ she told The Australian.
In March Dr Chant won the NSW Woman of the Year award in recognition of her hard work in keeping the state largely safe from Covid-19.
Premier Berejiklian announced the accolade at a breakfast in Sydney, saying: ‘Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Chant has been a familiar face, offering vital health information for our state in addition to years of service to the health sector.
‘Dr Chant is a role model, especially for women, and has absolutely excelled in her chosen field to affect lasting change.’
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said Dr Chant was ‘an inspiration for all women’.
‘Her leadership and dedication to her job ensured NSW was kept safe. Her work has been applauded around the world,’ Ms Taylor said.
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said Dr Chant (pictured) was ‘an inspiration for all women’
Earlier this year a school photo emerged showing Dr Chant wearing her hair in a short bob, a style which she still sports today.
Dr Chant has been described as a ‘sweet and always friendly’ student who was ‘seriously focused on the academic side’ of her schooling.
‘She was pretty committed to becoming a doctor,’ a school source said.
The school congratulated Dr Chant in November when she was named NSW Public Servant of the Year as part of the 2020 NSW Premier’s Awards.
‘Our sincere congratulations to Dr Chant, whose dedication to serve her community under the extreme pressures brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, was on display in the media since February,’ the school said.
‘Dr Chant’s almost daily TV appearances to report on the pandemic became a source of truth, and her knowledge and confidence in responding to questions built confidence in the community on how the state was handling the pandemic.
‘Along with the rest of NSW, we thank Dr Chant for her dedication and congratulate her on this well-deserved acknowledgement.’
NSW recorded 390 new cases on Friday morning, the highest number throughout the pandemic.
Dr Chant is pictured during one of her daily press conferences during the Northern Beaches outbreak in December