When she hosts events in her own home, Her Excellency and husband Richard Warner have to be the first to leave.

They are always the first to be served at events.

And when they visit their old farm Valleyfield, at New Norfolk, they are greeted by their daughter and her husband, rather than them greeting their children.

‘‘It’s all back to front,’’ Professor Warner said smiling last Saturday.

The esteemed legal academic and former Tasmanian Law Reform Institute director is still getting used to being Governor.

‘‘I’m still not accustomed to that (title), so sometimes I don’t respond when someone says Your Excellency, but I’m getting used to that being me,’’ Professor Warner said.

Her Excellency was out gardening at Valleyfield when Premier Will Hodgman called to ask if she would accept the honour of being the state’s first female governor.

She was ‘‘shocked’’ and had a week to consider, with the Premier conceding that she could continue with some university work.

Professor Warner, who was the first female Dean of the University of Tasmania Law School, sets aside Thursday as her university day.

This gives her time to supervise her two post-graduate students, Rhiannon and Steve, and work on research projects, including one ongoing since 2007 on public opinion and sentencing.

HER EXCELLENCY’S PERSONAL LIFE:

Outside of being Governor and a distinguished academic, Professor Warner is a wife, mother of two, grandmother of five, keen gardener, reader and bushwalker.

Her day usually starts at 6.20am with a walk.

‘‘I love the feeling of freedom being out in the wilderness,’’ she said.

Favourite walking spots for Professor Warner and Mr Warner are Mount Field National Park, Maria Island and the Tasman Peninsula.

Mr Warner was a hop grower originally and is now a horticulturist.

Professor Warner said she was finding it odd living at Government House and not doing the gardening.

‘‘I haven’t done any since I’ve been Governor and here I wouldn’t interfere with the gardeners,’’ she said.

‘‘The gardeners all have a patch of the garden that they’re in charge of and I would not like to dictate what they do with it.

‘‘I like wandering in the garden and talking to them about it, but I think my gardening will be confined to helping Emily (daughter) and Matt (daughter’s husband) in the Valleyfield garden.’’

Valleyfield  is Professor Warner and Mr Warner’s former home, where Mr Warner also grew up and lived his whole life.

The move to Government House was ‘‘much easier’’ than Professor Warner expected.

‘‘I think that’s because Em and Matt are at Valleyfield so we’re not entirely leaving it,’’ she said.

Professor Warner has always lived in Tasmania, graduating from the University of Tasmania with a Master of Laws degree in 1978.

She is still passionate about criminology and sentencing and her eyes light up when she talks about her research paper into public opinion and sentencing.

‘‘Most people think our judges are too lenient and we should increase the severity of sentences,’’ she said.

‘‘But this study shows that when jurors are asked about the sentence that should be imposed in their particular case, they are  likely to be more lenient than the judge.

‘‘This is important research that I want to continue.’’

While Criminal Law has been a part of Professor Warner’s life for more than 40 years, she initially thought she wanted to be a physiotherapist, due to the encouragement of her late father, who was a radiologist, and her mother, who passed away late last month, who was a radiographer.

‘‘My next thought was that I’d like to do languages and be in the diplomatic service, but then I changed my mind about that and decided to do law,’’ Professor Warner said.

While Professor Warner keeps busy, she likes to watch the news at the end of the day and is a keen reader.

‘‘One of the joys of this job is thinking I should read a particular book because it’s written by a Tasmanian and this is work,’’ Professor Warner said lightheartedly.

Her most recent Tasmanian reads are Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Margaretta Pos’s Mrs Fenton’s Journey.

‘‘I’m cheating at the moment though ... I’m reading Ian McEwan’s The Children Act.’’

HER EXCELLENCY’S AGENDA:

As Governor, Professor Warner wants to serve a successful governorship and ‘‘be more than an ornament’’.

She doesn’t like the term ‘‘make a difference’’: ‘‘I think it’s a lot to expect someone to make a difference, but I would like to have some kind of effect on community values and change attitudes in some ways.’’

Attitudes she wants to change are about:

■Gender violence, family violence and sexual violence.

■The position of women, including family sharing responsibilities.

■Education retention rates.

As a criminal lawyer, Professor Warner said it was important to change attitudes about violence being a way to solve things.

‘‘I also think things like physical punishment of children aren’t something we should accept.’’

She argued that it was legal to smack your own children, and while she admits she smacked her daughters, ‘‘I now know research shows that it is not a good way to discipline them’’.

Professor Warner said she was interested in the position of women, including equality, education and encouraging  them to work in whichever area they aspired to.

‘‘I can’t see why women can’t enter into every sphere, but I realise how difficult it is to have a work-life balance life if you want to have children.’’

Ensuring Tasmania has supportive workforces, accessible and affordable childcare and that families share responsibilities are things the Governor would like to achieve.

‘‘I really liked Annabel Crabb’s book, The Wife Drought.  She says what every woman needs is a wife. I think she’s got a point there. Getting that balance (in family sharing responsibilities) is really important.’’

Professor Warner would like to see more youth go on to year 12 and beyond to get qualifications.

She  admits it is still early days as Governor and she is still learning things.

‘‘We went to Kennerley Children’s Home (in Glenorchy) and I really enjoyed that,’’ she said.

‘‘We spoke to the carers, step-parents, foster parents.

 ’’Suddenly  I appreciated much more than I had before the importance of quality foster caring for kids.''

Professor Warner has also visited the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, in Hobart, and thinks we should be more aware of and supportive of its work.

Plans are being made for Her Excellency and Mr Warner to travel to every municipality in the state, including Flinders Island and King Island.

``I think it's  important for the Governor to move outside Hobart,'' Professor Warner said.

``I am looking forward to meeting people from all of those places, see what their concerns are and look at what they have to show us.''

Professor Warner has been asked to serve as Governor for five years.