Olive Smuts-Kennedy

Olive Evelyn Smuts-Kennedy QSO (née Wright; 23 March 1925 – 19 December 2013) was an activist and local politician in Wellington, New Zealand.

Olive Smuts-Kennedy QSO
Member of the Wellington City Council
In office 1965–1973
Succeeded by	Seton Nossiter
Personal details
Born	(1925-03-23)23 March 1925
Died	19 December 2013(2013-12-19) (aged 88)
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Arthur Edward Smuts-Kennedy
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Auckland
Profession	Lawyer

Biography

Early life

Olive Smuts-Kennedy was born on 23 March 1925.^[1] Her grandfather, Fortunatus Evelyn Wright was an early New Zealand settler, having arrived from England aboard the ship Samarang in 1852. In 1945 she married Arthur Edward Smuts-Kennedy and had one son and two daughters.^[2] She attended Auckland University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1951 and later a Bachelor of Law in 1955.^[3] She was admitted to the Bar that same year.^[4] She was involved with the women's rights organisation The Council for Equal Pay and Opportunity (affiliated with the National Council of Women) serving as its chairperson from 1960 to 1964.^[5] In 1965 she became a SEATO research fellow.^[6]

Political career

Smuts-Kennedy stood for election to the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Labour Party in four consecutive elections. She stood in Karori in 1960, Waimarino in 1963, Tauranga in 1966 and Wellington Central in 1969. She came in second place on every occasion.^[7] Additionally she was approached to stand for Labour in the 1967 Petone by-election, however she was not selected as a candidate.^[8] She also served as the President of the Wellington Labour Representation Committee.^[6]

In 1965 Smuts-Kennedy won a seat on the Wellington City Council on a Labour ticket which she was to hold until 1973 when she resigned.^[9] During her time as a councillor she was chairperson of the cultural, libraries and public relations committees.^[6] She was particularly opposed to the council passing an act to build a motorway through the Bolton Street Cemetery, arguing that the plan to bisect the cemetery for the Wellington Urban Motorway would destroy part of the city's heritage. She said "What a sacrilege it would be if [the city] were all to be made so municipally trim as to take away its soul … [W]e have no ancient buildings and few early relics of a lasting character — the more reason to preserve what we have".^[10]

Later life

In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smuts-Kennedy was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.^[11]

Smuts-Kennedy died on 19 December 2013.^[1]

Notes

1. "Smuts-Kennedy, Olive Evelyn, 1925–2013". Alexander Turnbull Library. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
2. Petersen 1971, pp. 312.
3. "NZ university graduates 1871–1960: SL-SZ". shadowsoftime. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
4. "Women Legal Pioneers". New Zealand Law Society. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
5. Petersen 1971, pp. 309.
6. "Labour Hopefuls for City Council". The Evening Post. 4 September 1971.
7. Norton 1988, pp. 260, 369, 359, 386.
8. "Labour Contenders Not Lacking For Petone Seat". The Evening Post. 10 February 1967. p. 22.
9. Betts 1970, pp. 259.
10. Yska, Redmer (2006). Wellington: Biography of a City. Auckland: Reed Books. p. 192. ISBN 9780790011172.
11. "No. 52174". The London Gazette. 16 June 1990. p. 30.

References

• Petersen, George Conrad (1971). Who's Who in New Zealand, 1971 (10th ed.). Wellington: A.H & A.W. Reed.
• Betts, G.M. (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0 589 00469 7.
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.