Dame Grace Hilda Cuthbertha Ross DBE CStJ (née Nixon; 6 July 1883 – 6 March 1959), known as Hilda Ross, was a New Zealand politician for the National Party and an activist.
Dame Hilda Ross | |
|---|---|
Hilda Ross, c.1951 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Hamilton | |
| In office 1945–1959 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Findlay |
| Succeeded by | Lance Adams-Schneider |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Grace Hilda Cuthbertha Nixon 6 July 1883 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 6 March 1959 (aged 75) Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse |
Harry Campbell Manchester Ross
(m. 1904; died 1940) |
Early years
editNixon was born in Auckland to Adam (a fireman who later became a marine engineer) and Zillah (Johnson) Nixon. Her family lived in both Sydney and Auckland, and she received her education in these cities. She trained as a music teacher and later conducted the Hamilton City Choral Operatic Society.[1]
Family
editIn 1904, she married Harry Campbell Manchester Ross (died 1940) in Auckland. Her husband founded a furnishing company, "Barton and Ross". They had four sons, including twins who died in infancy. The twins were born in 1907 and survived only a few days but were baptised.[2]
Political career
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1946 | 27th | Hamilton | National | ||
| 1946–1949 | 28th | Hamilton | National | ||
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Hamilton | National | ||
| 1951–1954 | 30th | Hamilton | National | ||
| 1954–1957 | 31st | Hamilton | National | ||
| 1957–1959 | 32nd | Hamilton | National | ||
Her first elected posts were the Waikato Hospital Board (1941) and the Hamilton Borough Council (1944).[3] She was Deputy Mayor of Hamilton in 1945.[1] Following the death of the incumbent MP for Hamilton, Frank Findlay,[4] she won the 1945 by-election to represent the electorate in the New Zealand Parliament, where she remained until her death 14 years later in 1959.[5][6] As MP, she held various posts in the First National Government, including Member of the Executive Council (1949–1957),[7] Minister of Social Security (1957),[8] Minister of Welfare of Women and Children (1949–1957),[9] and Minister of Child Welfare (1954–1957).[10][6]
Later life
editIn 1952, she was appointed as a Commander of the Order of St John.[11] Ross was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours.[5][12] She died on 6 March 1959 in Hamilton.[1]
Quote
edit- "The Country is today enjoying so much prosperity that married women with children should wake up to their responsibilities in the home and stay at home".[13]
Legacy
editGallery
edit-
Dame Hilda Ross passport photo (1927)
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Dame Hilda Ross passport photo (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross diplomatic passport (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross diplomatic passport (interior) (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross - Visas in passport (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross - visas in passport (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross - Visas in Passport (1952)
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Dame Hilda Ross passport photo (1958)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c Gustafson 1986, p. 340.
- ^ Dalley, Bronwyn. "Ross, Grace Hilda Cuthberta". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "Dame Hilda Ross – Visit Hamilton". www.visithamilton.co.nz. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 196.
- ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 231.
- ^ a b Hilda Ross bio
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 86–88.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 88.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 133.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 118.
- ^ "No. 39433". The London Gazette. 4 January 1952. p. 137.
- ^ "Dame Hilda Ross, 1883–1959 – Hamilton Heritage – Kete Hamilton". Ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
- ^ Carlyon, Jenny; Morrow, Diana (2013). Changing Times: New Zealand since 1945. Auckland University Press. ISBN 9781869407827.
- ^ Mike Mather (13 August 2020). "Beloved political pioneer Hilda Ross pulled into Captain Hamilton debate". Waikato Times. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ McRae, Andrew (31 October 2020). "'Hands-on activist': Statue of Hilda Ross being unveiled in Hamilton". Radio New Zealand.
References
edit- Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
- Women in Parliamentary Life 1970–1990: Hocken Lecture 1993 by Marilyn Waring, page 34–35 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) ISBN 0-902041-61-4