The mother of newly appointed opposition leader Sussan Ley has died only days after watching her daughter make history.
Ms Ley's mother, Angela Braybrooks, died early on Saturday morning after going into end-of-life care in the NSW border town of Albury.
Four days earlier, the longstanding MP for the seat of Farrer was voted leader of the Liberal Party following its crushing defeat at the May 3 election.
She became the first woman to lead the federal opposition and the first to head her party at a national level after former leader Peter Dutton lost his seat.
Ms Ley said she and her family felt the loss of her mother deeply, describing the former mental health nurse as someone who helped many people during her life.
"She taught me the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence," she said in a statement.
"Growing up in wartime Britain, Angela could never have dreamed that her daughter would become Australia’s first female leader of the opposition, but because of her, that happened this week."
Ms Ley added that it was a gift to spend one final Mother's Day with her mum on Sunday, while on Tuesday Ms Braybrooks was able to watch her daughter ascend to the Liberal leadership.
"Whilst mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference," she said.
"As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure, forever."
Ms Braybrooks had earlier been told by the family's parish priest that she needed to "hang on" for a special moment in her daughter's life.
Ms Ley, who served as deputy Liberal leader under Mr Dutton, defeated former shadow treasurer Angus Taylor by 29 votes to 25 in the partyroom ballot.
Her appointment follows the party's worst electoral result in the post-war era.
