Dame Elizabeth Ann Hanan (née Walsh; 21 August 1937 – 13 October 2024) was a New Zealand local-body politician and community leader. She served as deputy mayor of Dunedin between 1998 and 2004.

Early life and family

Hanan was born Elizabeth Ann Walsh on 21 August 1937 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia, the daughter of John Patrick Walsh and Enid Walsh (née Morris). The family moved to New Zealand in 1946 when her father was appointed professor of dentistry 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 ...

; he invented the high-speed dental drill and was later knighted for services to dentistry. Elizabeth Walsh was educated at

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 ...

and

Otago Girls' High School Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hem ...

, before going on to study at the University of Otago between 1955 and 1960, and

Canterbury University College 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 ...

between 1960 and 1961, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree. In 1966, she married John Murray Hanan, and the couple went on to have three children.

Teaching career

Hanan worked as a secondary school science teacher between 1960 and 1962, 1964 and 1966, and 1984 to 1988. She was also a laboratory supervisor and demonstrator at the University of Otago from 1975 to 1986, and a chemistry tutor at

Otago Polytechnic Otago Polytechnic is a public Education in New Zealand#Tertiary education, New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell, New Zealand, Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provides career-f ...

between 1982 and 1985.

Local politics and community involvement

Hanan was first elected to the

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council () is the Local government in New Zealand, local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since O ...

in 1986, and served as deputy mayor of Dunedin, under

Sukhi Turner Dame Sukhinder Kaur Gill Turner (born Sukhinder Kaur Gill, 13 April 1952), commonly known as Sukhi Turner, is a New Zealand politician who served as the Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, from 1995 until her retirement from the position in 2004. Sh ...

, between 1998 and 2004. She served on many community organisations, including as a member and chair of the

Otago Museum Otago (, ; ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government region. Its po ...

Trust, the Keep Dunedin Beautiful programme, and the Electrical Workers Registration Board. She has been a member of the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

trust board, the New Zealand Consumer Council and then the board of the Consumers Institute of New Zealand, and the national executive of the

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is ...

. Between 1990 and 1992, she was the president of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Federation of University Women. In 1998, Hanan was intimately involved with the establishment of the

New Zealand International Science Festival The New Zealand International Science Festival is a biennial science festival which takes place for six days and involves participation of international keynote speakers. NZISF-staff produce events, external event organisers, and a range of loc ...

, and then in its continuation as a biennial event.

Later life and death

Hanan died in Dunedin on 13 October 2024, at the age of 87. She had been predeceased by her husband, Murray Hanan, who died in March 2022.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Hanan received 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 ...

, and in 1993 she was awarded 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

1998 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppleme ...

, she was appointed 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 ...

, for services to the community. Hanan was made a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2003, and in 2010 she received the first life membership awarded by the New Zealand International Science Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanan, Elizabeth 1937 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Melbourne Australian emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Columba College People educated at Otago Girls' High School University of Otago alumni University of Canterbury alumni Dunedin City Councillors Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Companions of the Royal Society of New Zealand