Dame Marie Bashir has warned Australians not to take the nation's harmony for granted, as the outgoing governor of NSW prepares to retire from public office.
Dame Marie was escorted by a full military honour guard from Sydney's Hyde Park to Parliament House on Tuesday for the official opening of the second session of the 55th parliament.
The parade was also used to farewell the governor, who will leave her post in October after 13 years of service.
In her final speech to parliament, Dame Marie said the people of NSW and Australia were living in "exceptional times".
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"It is not immodest to claim that Australia has attracted the highest respect of most nations of the world," she told the chamber.
But the state's first female governor warned there was a risk of taking the nation's advances and "harmony" for granted.
"On a serious note, one potential foe must be considered: the foe of complacency," she said.
"Of prime importance, therefore, accepted surely by all, is the fundamental foundation, truly democratic, of a wise government, which listens to the people and is seen to respond."
Dame Marie was born to a Lebanese father and a mother of Lebanese descent.
Before becoming governor, she was awarded the Order of Australia in 1988 for her services to child and adolescent health.
She has served alongside six premiers of NSW, each of whom she considers to have "placed the wellbeing of the people of our state to the fore".
"During my period of service to the state as governor, there have been many inspirational occasions when one's heart and mind have surged with pride at the stability, the vision and the harmony of multicultural inclusiveness supported by government, working in harmony with the people," she said.
She steps down as governor on October 1, to be replaced by defence force chief General David Hurley.
NSW Premier Mike Baird later paid tribute to Dame Marie's service at a lunch held in her honour at Parliament House.
"I was told today that it is Her Excellency's 751st lunch, and there's still a few days to fit in," Mr Baird told the event.
"How does she stay looking so good after 751 lunches?"
Opposition Leader John Robertson said he was proud of former Labor premier Bob Carr for his "trailblazing selection" of Dame Marie for the position of governor.
"(She became) the first female governor of NSW and the first Lebanese Australian to rise to such an esteemed responsibility, here in our state," he said.
