Margaret Brenda Bell (18 October 1891 – 10 August 1979) was a pioneer amateur radio operator from New Zealand. She was a writer and radio broadcaster.

Biography

Bell was born at Shag Station in eastern

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

, South Island, New Zealand, in 1891. She and her brother Francis were the children of Alfred Dillon Bell and his wife, Gertrude Eliza Robinson (daughter of Henry Wirgman Robinson and Gertrude May Mathias). Alfred was interested in the newly-developed wireless communication and established what is thought to be the first telephone connection in New Zealand, between two farmhouses, and Bell shared her father's interest. Her uncle,

Francis Bell Francis Bell may refer to: *Arthur Bell (martyr) (1590–1643), also known as Francis Bell, Franciscan and English martyr *Dillon Bell (Francis Dillon Bell; 1822–1898), New Zealand politician, father of the New Zealand Prime Minister *Francis Bel ...

, served briefly as

prime minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

in 1925. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bell served as a military hospital cook in England and acted as a hostess at the New Zealand High Commission in London. On her return to Shag Station, she took over the running of the wireless station from her brother Frank, who was running the farm. She became New Zealand's first female amateur radio operator and in 1927 she was the first New Zealander to contact South Africa by radio. In 1931 she joined the Country Women's Institute and later became a member of the Dominion executive. In 1939 she led a group of 70 of members to London to attend a world conference of country women's organisations. Bell served in the

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

in England in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as a military hospital cook and nurse. After the war Bell worked in professional radio as a writer and broadcaster for Dunedin station 4YA. During the 1950s Bell attended two further world conferences of country women's organisations, in Toronto and Edinburgh, and lectured and broadcast on New Zealand throughout Europe and Australia. In 1960, Bell stood unsuccessfully for the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

against sitting member Ethel McMillan in the safe

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

seat of

Dunedin North Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb ''Inner suburb'' is a term used for a variety of suburban communities that are generally located very close to the centre of a large city (the inner city and central bus ...

. She later stood again, unsuccessfully, for the National Party nomination for

Waitaki Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. ...

. In the

1979 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1979 to celebr ...

, Bell was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service. She died in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 10 August 1979.

References

External links

Bell discussing operating short wave radioBell discussing transport and communicationsBell discussing the history of Shag ValleyImage
of Bell with her brother
Newspaper article
with image showing the Bell radio outfit. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Brenda 1891 births 1979 deaths People from Otago New Zealand women in World War I New Zealand women in World War II Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand National Party politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election New Zealand military personnel of World War I

Brenda Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...