Dame Alison Mary Roxburgh (née Cameron; 6 September 1934 – 25 January 2020) was a New Zealand women's rights advocate and community leader.

Life

Roxburgh was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 6 September 1934, and attended

Columba College Columba College is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Otago, Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day and boarding school, but there is also a p ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Home Science at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 1955 and then attended Auckland Teachers' College. Roxburgh lectured and conducted research in nutrition at the University of Otago,

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

School of Clinical Research and the Flour Advisory Bureau in London, and at Victoria University of Wellington. From 1990 she was the national president of the

National Council of Women of New Zealand The National Council of Women of New Zealand () was established in 1896, three years after women in New Zealand won the right to the vote, as an umbrella organisation uniting a number of different women's societies that existed in New Zealan ...

Honours and awards

In the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

, Roxburgh was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services, and in 1993 she received the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other c ...

, she was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to women's affairs. She was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to women's affairs and the community, in the

2003 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

. Following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Roxburgh accepted redesignation as a

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

References

1934 births 2020 deaths People from Nelson, New Zealand University of Otago alumni New Zealand women's rights activists Companions of the Queen's Service Order Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace People from Dunedin New Zealand nutritionists {{Womensrights-activist-stub