Annie McVicar (4 November 1862 – 26 February 1954) was a New Zealand community worker and local politician, and the first woman elected to the Wellington City Council.

Biography

Early life and career

She was born Ann McLachlan in

Kilmartin Kilmartin ( gd, Cille Mhàrtainn, meaning "church of Màrtainn") is a small village in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It is best known as the centre of Kilmartin Glen, an area with one of the richest concentrations of prehistoric monuments ...

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, Scotland, on 4 November 1862. She attended a state school in Kilmartin and later trained as a nurse in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1888 she married Gordon McDonald, with whom she sailed to New Zealand in 1901. Gordon died in 1906 and on 9 October that same year she re-married to Alexander McVicar, a widower with three children. From 1906 McVicar was actively engaged in both teaching and social work in Wellington. She was an early member, and later vice president, of the

New Zealand Society for the Protection of Women and Children New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and also established the local branch 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 "t ...

in 1908, which she was also the secretary of. She frequently accompanied Plunket nurses on visits to mothers and on occasion carried out these duties by herself.

Political career

McVicar was also interested in politics. In 1913 she was the vice president of the Wellington women's branch of the Reform Party. She was one of four candidates in the in the electorate and came last, with 4% of the vote. She later served on the Worser Bay School committee and was chairperson of the ladies' advisory committee of

Wellington Technical College , seal_image = , motto = Excellence in Learning , type = State secondary , established = 1886 , streetaddress = 249 Taranaki Street , city = Wellington , postcode = 6011 , country = New Zealand , ...

from 1923 to 1949. She was elected to the

Wellington Hospital Board Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in 1915 and served on the body continuously until her retirement in 1938. From 1919 she was involved in distributing funds to improve conditions in maternity homes, after a large sum of money was left to the Hospital Board. In local government, as in her other activities, McVicar was known to be energetic and pragmatic, particularly when focused on her specific interests which were the education and welfare of women and children. She was then elected to the Miramar Borough Council in 1919. In 1921 Miramar amalgamated with Wellington, and she became the first woman elected to the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

, on a Civic League ticket. An editorial in the '' Evening Post'' declared: "Never before has Wellington had a lady City Councillor, and the innovation is full of promise." She was re-elected in 1923, but was defeated in 1925.

Later life and death

In 1926 McVicar was appointed a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, one of the first women in New Zealand to be given the office. In 1929 she was New Zealand’s delegate to the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship held in Berlin. In the

1938 New Year Honours The 1938 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, she was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for public and social welfare services in New Zealand. She died on 26 February 1954 in Wellington, survived by her step-children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVicar, Annie 1862 births 1954 deaths Wellington City Councillors Wellington Hospital Board members Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election New Zealand women nurses New Zealand nurses People from Argyll and Bute New Zealand justices of the peace New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Reform Party (New Zealand) politicians