The spectacle of gruff men in suits hugging a fellow commuter in an airport lounge might raise the odd eyebrow. When that commuter is the world's most senior transgender military officer, it is nothing short of profound. 
"I walked into the Qantas airport lounge in my female uniform and there was a bunch of guys there in suits ... and this group of men started applauding," recalls Catherine McGregor (pictured), outgoing group captain in the Royal Australian Air Force.
It was   February 2014 and the ABC's Australian Story had just aired McGregor's moving account of transitioning from Malcolm - known to many as "a pretty blokey bloke" - to Catherine.
The former army Lieutenant-Colonel, political adviser-turned-correspondent and cricket writer had been convinced that coming out would be a "complete disaster". On the eve of Australia Day, 2012, she contemplated suicide.
"[The men] were walking over and hugging me and touching me on the shoulder and saying 'Good on you, love, fantastic'," McGregor says. "I'm crying now. Nothing had prepared me for that."
The 59-year-old, who counts former prime minister Tony Abbott as a friend, says there is an extraordinary bliss in finally being herself.
But it has also exacted an emotional toll, including the loss of an "incredibly happy" marriage.
And as a high-profile transgender woman, she has been the target of "hair-raising" vilification online.
Regardless of whether or not she is named Australian of the Year on Monday - she has already taken out the Queensland title - McGregor is determined "make this a year in which, if I achieve anything, it is to show just the common humanity of transgendered people to the rest of Australia". She says high-profile transgender women, including US reality TV star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, have been important because "visibility matters".
But it was Indian batting master Rahul Dravid, about whom McGregor wrote in her book An Indian Summer of Cricket , who saw her future with clarity.
Dravid said people would be drawn to McGregor's "great courage", "not just people with gender issues but anyone struggling with an issue in their own life".
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