Colleen Elizabeth Dewe (30 May 1930 – 22 May 1993) was a New Zealand politician of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

. She and

Marilyn Waring Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics. In 1975, aged 23, she bec ...

were the 14th and 15th women elected to the New Zealand Parliament, and she represented the Lyttelton electorate for one parliamentary term from 1975 until her defeat in 1978.

Early life

Dewe was born in

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

in 1930. Her father was Leonard George Reginald Dewe and her mother was Marjory Dewe (née Armstrong; married 1922). She received her education at the

Christchurch Normal School Cranmer Court, the former Christchurch Normal School, was one of the most significant heritage buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its demolition, due to some damage in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was controversial. History The Canter ...

, at

Christchurch West High School Christchurch West High School (originally Christchurch Academy then High School of Christchurch and then West Christchurch Borough School) existed prior to 1966 on the site of Hagley College in Hagley Avenue, in Christchurch, New Zealand. In tha ...

, and at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. She was an Associate Chartered Accountant.

Professional life

Dewe was head clerk for the Christchurch company Lake & Lake from 1956 to 1958. From 1958 to 1963, she was an accountant and secretary for Flight Equipment Ltd in the United Kingdom. She was office manager for Lawrence, Godfrey & Company in Christchurch from 1964 to 1975.

Political career

She represented the Lyttelton electorate from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

to 1978, when she was defeated by Ann Hercus. She told fellow MP

that she had never been subject to discrimination throughout her life, to which Waring asked whether she had ever attended one of the dinners of the annual New Zealand Accountants conference. Those dinners were for men only, and Waring believes that Dewe never stated again that she wasn't a feminist. Dewe was a resident of

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

while she was an MP.

Later life

After her defeat in 1978, she was appointed as Deputy Chair of the Commerce Commission, filling the vacancy left as a result of Ann Hercus being elected to Parliament. She retired from the Commerce Commission in 1988. She served as the chairwoman of the Advisory Committee of Women's Affairs from 1980 to 1984 and lead the New Zealand delegation to the 1980 Vienna conference on the status of women. She was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

in 1977, and the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

in 1990. Dewe was awarded a Fellowship of the Society of Accountants in 1982 for her lifelong interest in accountancy.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewe, Colleen 1930 births 1993 deaths People educated at Christchurch West High School New Zealand National Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand accountants New Zealand women accountants People from Hokitika