Dame Lucy Ruth Kirk (née Miller, 28 April 1922 – 20 March 2000) was a New Zealand prominent

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

campaigner. Her husband was New Zealand's 29th Prime Minister,

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

Biography

Lucy Ruth Miller was born in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

in 1922, the daughter of postmaster George Miller and his wife Margaret. She met her future husband, Norman Kirk, at a blind date in

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 ...

; she was his first partner. On 17 July 1943, they married at Holy Trinity Church in Devonport,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. The couple were to have three boys and two girls, including John Kirk, who succeeded his father as MP for Sydenham, and coastal geomorphologist Professor Bob Kirk. In February 1944, they moved to

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand (North Island) located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes thro ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

. In 1948, they moved to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. Her husband worked at Firestone (now

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japa ...

) in

Papanui Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometers to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (NZ Eur ...

and in the evenings and weekend, built their house in

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is c ...

, where land was cheaper. During this time, she lived with her children at his parents' place in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. Once the house was finished, the family moved to Kaiapoi. On 28 May 1999, their house in Carew Street was registered by the Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage structure. Norman Kirk was elected Mayor of Kaiapoi in 1953. He resigned from the mayoralty in January 1958 after having won the November in the electorate. The family moved to Christchurch in January 1958 to fulfil a promise to the Lyttelton electors. In 1974, she became patron of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child. This caused a public furore, as her husband was Prime Minister at the time. Kirk joined protest marches in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

and Hamilton. Her husband died in August 1974, and in the

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

, she was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for public services. Three months after her husband's death, she put gifts given to him by foreign leaders up for auction, which sparked some public debate. She was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977. Kirk largely withdrew from public life in later years, but was famously remembered for ringing a Christchurch talkback radio show in 1993 to voice her fury at

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

's ousting of Mike Moore as Labour party leader. She died from cancer in

on 20 March 2000, and was buried alongside her husband at

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

in South Canterbury.

References

External links

Photo of the 1974 Wellington anti-abortion march
led by Sir

William Liley Sir Albert William Liley (12 March 1929 – 15 June 1983) was a New Zealand medical practitioner, renowned for developing techniques to improve the health of foetuses '' in utero''. Education and career Liley graduated from Otago Medical Schoo ...

, Dr Diana Mason (wife of

Bruce Mason Bruce Edward George Mason (28 September 1921 – 31 December 1982) was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was appoi ...

), Ruth Kirk, and Archbishop Reginald Delargey {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Ruth 1922 births 2000 deaths Deaths from cancer in New Zealand New Zealand activists New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand women activists People from Taumarunui Spouses of prime ministers of New Zealand