- Hilda Ross
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Dame Hilda Ross, DBE (born 6 July 1883, Whangarei, New Zealand - died 6 March 1959, Hamilton, New Zealand) was a New Zealand politician and activist.
Contents
Early years
She was born as Grace Hilda Cuthbertha Nixon to Adam Nixon and Zillah Johnson. Her family lived in Sydney and Auckland.
Marriage
In 1904 she married Harry Campbell Manchester Ross (died 1940) in Auckland. Her husband founded a furnishing company, Barton and Ross. They had four sons but two died in their infancy.
Political career
She was a cabinet minister from 1949 to 1957 in the First National Government. Her first elected posts were the Waikato Hospital Board (1941) and the Hamilton Borough Council (1944).
Following the death of the incumbent MP for Hamilton (Frank Findlay), she won the by-election to represent Hamilton in the New Zealand Parliament, where she remained until her death 14 years later in 1959.[1] As MP she held various posts including Minister in Charge of the Welfare of Women and Children, Minister in Charge of Child Welfare and Minister of Social Security.[1]
DBE
She was awarded the DBE in 1956.[2]
Quote
- "Married women with children should wake up to their responsibilities in the home and stay at home".[3]
Legacy
- Dame Hilda Ross Memorial Arts Centre & Dame Hilda Ross Memorial Arts Centre Appeal
References
Sources
- Wilson, J.O., New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984 (1985, 4th edition, Government Printer, Wellington)
- Gustafson, Barry. The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party (1986, Reed Methuen, Auckland; has biographical appendix of National MPs) ISBN 0474001776
- Women in Parliamentary Life 1970-1990: Hocken Lecture 1993 by Marilyn Waring, page 34-35 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) ISBN 0 902041 614
External links
Categories:- 1883 births
- 1959 deaths
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- New Zealand National Party MPs
- Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
- People from Auckland
- People from Hamilton, New Zealand
- New Zealand women in politics
- Local political office-holders in New Zealand
- New Zealand National Party politician stubs
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