Dame Dawn Ruth Lamb (formerly Taylor, née Ritchie; born 17 May 1940) is a former New Zealand schoolteacher. She was principal of

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was established i ...

between 1987 and 1998.

Early life and family

Lamb was born Dawn Ruth Ritchie, the daughter of Ruth Adelaide Ritchie (née Leadbeater) and Leslie William Ritchie, in the Auckland suburb of

Kohimarama Kohimarama is a coastal residential Auckland suburb, located to the east of the city. Kohimarama is situated between Mission Bay and St Heliers and has an accessible beach with a boardwalk and green recreational spaces located amongst resident ...

on 17 May 1940. Her first marriage was to Denis Taylor, and the couple spent time in Ghana, where Lamb worked as a personal assistant to Thomas Lionel Hodgkin at the

Institute of African Studies The Institute of African Studies on the Anne Jiagee road on campus of the University of Ghana at Legon is an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences. It was established by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1962 to encou ...

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

. After moving back to New Zealand in the late 1960s, the couple divorced, and she married Douglas Lamb.

Education career

After returning from Ghana, Lamb worked at Auckland's

Dilworth School Dilworth School, often referred to simply as Dilworth, is an independent full boarding school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest full boarding school in both the country and Australasia. Owned and operated by a charitable tru ...

, and later as a dean at Rangitoto College. She was involved in the establishment of

Macleans College Macleans College is a co-educational state secondary school located in Eastern Beach, Auckland, New Zealand. The school is named after the Scottish MacLean family who lived and farmed the land of the school and surrounding reserves, and the sc ...

in the Auckland suburb of

Howick Howick may refer to: Places *Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa **Howick Falls * Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England *Howick, New Zealand **Howick Historical Village **Howick (New Zealand electo ...

, where she was the inaugural senior mistress from 1980 until 1986. While teaching in Auckland, Lamb studied part-time and completed a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. In 1987, Lamb was appointed principal of Christchurch Girls' High School, and she remained there until retiring to

Wellington 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 me ...

in December 1998. She soon became involved with He Huarahi Tamariki in

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

, New Zealand's first school for teenage parents, where she worked part-time to establish an early childhood centre, which she went on to manage. From 1990, Lamb was an executive member of the Secondary Principals' Association, the Teacher Registration Board, and the secondary joint action group of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

Other activities

Lamb is 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 ...

, and in 2005 she was appointed as a visiting justice, with the authority to hear charges and appeals relating to offences against prison discipline, the treatment and conduct of prison inmates, and to inquire into alleged abuses in prisons.

Honours

In the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lamb was appointed a

Dame Commander 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 services to education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Dawn 1940 births Living people People from Auckland Christchurch Girls' High School faculty Heads of schools in New Zealand New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand justices of the peace