Elizabeth Welch Orr (29 October 1929 – 22 April 2021, née Entrican) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

lecturer and a previous Chancellor of

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

. Orr was also a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader and advocate for

pay equity Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

Life

Orr was the daughter of civil engineer and forestry administrator

Pat Entrican Alexander Robert Entrican (28 January 1898 – 21 April 1965), commonly known as Pat Entrican, was a New Zealand civil engineer and forestry administrator. He was born in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand, on 28 January 1898. In 1953, Entri ...

. She attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate between 1936 and 1942, and Nga Tawa Diocesan between 1944 and 1946. Orr completed her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in English and French at Victoria University of Wellington in 1951. After graduating her postgraduate Master's in English with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in 1954, she continued working at the University within the English department as both a tutor and lecturer.

University administrative career

Between 1967 - 1980 Orr was the first woman to serve as Executive Secretary of the Association of University Teachers. Orr became a member of the Victoria University of Wellington Council in 1986, and continued on to become the Pro-Chancellor in 1990. Between 1991 and 1995 she served as the University’s Chancellor - the first female to do so.

Equity work

Orr contributed to the formation of the National Advisory Council for the Employment of Women, where she served as chair between 1971 and 1979, advocating for the Equal Pay Act in 1972. Orr was a member of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal, and between 1975 and 1978 she served on the Equal Pay Committee. Additionally, Orr contributed to the legal arguments for the 2014 pay equality case Terranova Homes & Care Limited v Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Incorporated.

Later life

Orr married Secretary for Justice and

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...

member Gordon Orr. in 1997 Elizabeth Orr became a 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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services to education and the community. In the same year she was also made an honorary Doctor of Literature by the Victoria University of Wellington Council. Orr held conservationist views around the protection of native fauna in New Zealand and in 2017 she published a history of the

New Zealand Forest Service New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, including detailing her father's work as Director of Forestry between 1939 and 1961. Orr died in Wellington on 22 April 2021 aged 91.

Publications

* "Pay Packets & Stone Walls: A Memoir of Women's Causes and Love of the Land" * "Women at work: a Guide to Employment and Training Opportunities for Women Returning to Work" (1968) * "Keeping New Zealand Green: Our Forests - and Their Future" (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Elizabeth 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people 20th-century New Zealand women 21st-century New Zealand women New Zealand trade unionists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand lecturers Women trade unionists Chancellors of Victoria University of Wellington