Dame Deirdre Glenna Milne (née Boyes, born 2 June 1939) is a New Zealand feminist active from the 1970s and a retired lawyer.

Biography

Milne was born Deirdre Glenna Boyes 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 2 June 1939, one of two daughters of Lorna Brimfield Boyes (née Faigan) and George Hunter Boyes. Her father died in

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 1943 while serving with the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

during

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 ...

, and her mother never remarried. Boyes studied at Canterbury University College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1960. She also studied law and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor. She married Don Milne, a journalist who rose to become deputy editor of ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''. Deirdre Milne was a founding partner of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

law firm Milne Ireland Walker, retiring in about 1998, although she continued to work as a duty solicitor at the Auckland district court. Milne was active in the feminist movement. In 1973, she convened abortion workshops at the first United Women's Convention in Auckland. She was a founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby in 1975 and the National Organisation for Women, and was a trustee of the Women's Refuge Foundation. Milne was also involved in other professional and community groups. She served on the councils of the Auckland District Law Society and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, and chaired the ethics committees of Auckland Health and Unitec Institute of Technology. She was chair of the

New Zealand AIDS Foundation The Burnett Foundation Aotearoa (formerly the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF)) is New Zealand’s national HIV prevention and healthcare organisation. Its funding is derived from grants, donations and the Ministry of Health. The Burnett Found ...

and served as a director of the Yellow Bus Company.

Honours and awards

In the

1990 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the ...

, Milne was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services. In 1993, she was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal In the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, she was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to women and the community, and in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Deirdre 1939 births Living people Lawyers from Dunedin University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand feminists New Zealand women's rights activists New Zealand community activists Companions of the Queen's Service Order Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit