Olive Evelyn Smuts-Kennedy (née Wright; 23 March 1925 – 19 December 2013) was an activist and local politician in

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand.

Biography

Early life

Olive Smuts-Kennedy was born on 23 March 1925. Her grandfather, Fortunatus Evelyn Wright was an early New Zealand settler, having arrived from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

aboard the ship ''Samarang'' in 1852. In 1945 she married Arthur Edward Smuts-Kennedy and had one son and two daughters. She attended

Auckland University The University of Auckland (; Māori language, Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the Unive ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1951 and later a

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1955. She was admitted to the Bar that same year. She was involved with the women's rights organisation The Council for Equal Pay and Opportunity (affiliated with the National Council of Women) serving as its chairperson from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 she became a

SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...

research fellow.

Political career

Smuts-Kennedy stood for election to the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...

for the Labour Party in four consecutive elections. She stood in in , in , in and in . She came in second place on every occasion. Additionally she was approached to stand for Labour in the

1967 Petone by-election The 1967 Petone by-election was a by-election for the electorate of Petone on 15 April 1967 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member the Hon Mick Moohan on 7 February 1967. The by-ele ...

, however she was not selected as a candidate. She also served as the President of the Wellington Labour Representation Committee. In

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Smuts-Kennedy won a seat on the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

on a Labour ticket which she was to hold until 1973 when she resigned. During her time as a councillor she was chairperson of the cultural, libraries and public relations committees. She was particularly opposed to the council passing an act to build a motorway through the Bolton Street Cemetery, arguing that the plan to bisect the cemetery for the

Wellington Urban Motorway The Wellington Urban Motorway, part of State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State HIghway 1, is the main road into and out of Wellington, New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to seven lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngaur ...

would destroy part of the city's heritage. She said "What a sacrilege it would be if he citywere all to be made so municipally trim as to take away its soul … have no ancient buildings and few early relics of a lasting character — the more reason to preserve what we have".

Later life

In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smuts-Kennedy 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. Smuts-Kennedy died on 19 December 2013.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smuts-Kennedy, Olive 1925 births 2013 deaths University of Auckland alumni Wellington City Councillors New Zealand Labour Party politicians Companions of the Queen's Service Order Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1966 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 20th-century New Zealand women lawyers