Dorothy Catherine Jelicich (née MacDonald, 19 January 1928 – 10 April 2015) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served one term in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

representing the electorate, and was afterwards a city councillor in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and then

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

Early life and family

Jelicich was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 19 January 1928. Her father was a semi-skilled labourer. She was educated at

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

and the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

. In 1949 she married Paul Jelicich, a bricklayer, and, with family support, she opened a restaurant in the Auckland suburb of

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

. Purchasing a small dairy farm at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1964, the couple took up farming, but in 1970 she became a shoe store manager and then a trade union organiser.

Political career

Jelicich, through her union job, became a member of the Labour Party and became a member of the executive of the electorate and president of the electorate committee. She stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for

Hauraki Hauraki is a suburb located on the southern North Shore of Auckland, the largest metropolitan city in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. History The traditional name for the western coastline in Hauraki wa ...

in . In she won the seat of for

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 ...

by defeating Hamilton City Councillor Derek Heather after the incumbent,

Leslie Munro Sir Leslie Knox Munro (26 February 190113 February 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer, journalist, diplomat and politician. Law and media Munro studied at Auckland Grammar School and the University of Auckland, where he graduated with a Master of ...

of the National Party, retired. She became the first woman in New Zealand parliamentary history to open the Address-in-Reply debate. In she lost her seat to

Mike Minogue Michael John Minogue (20 October 1923 – 27 November 2008) was a New Zealand National Party politician, lawyer and mayor. Biography Minogue was born on 20 October 1923. He attended Timaru Boys' High School, St. Patrick's College ...

. Following her defeat she stood for the vice-presidency of the Labour Party at the 1976 party conference. She lost to

Gerald O'Brien John Gerald O’Brien (2 December 1924 – 13 December 2017), known as Gerald O'Brien, was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Early life O'Brien was born in Wellington on 2 December 1924, the son of John Thomas O'Brien, and was ed ...

, placing second in the delegate ballot with a credible 344 votes to O'Brien's 585. In early 1977 she stood as a candidate for the Labour Party nomination in the Māngere by-election. She had the backing of both the outgoing MP

Colin Moyle Colin James Moyle (born 18 July 1929) is a former politician of the New Zealand Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1963 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1990. He was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth ...

, Labour leader Bill Rowling, but regardless she lost out to future Prime Minister

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

. She contested the Hamilton West electorate once more in the . She briefly served on the

Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor i ...

after winning a by-election in 1979. She unsuccessfully stood for the Labour nomination at the 1980 Onehunga by-election. Just as in Mangere she gathered much support among local members but again missed out, narrowly losing to

Fred Gerbic Frederick Miroslav Gerbic (10 March 1932 – 29 October 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Gerbic was born in Kaitaia in 1932. He became an electrical lineman and later married Joy Constan ...

. In 1982 (via another by-election) she became a

Manukau City Council Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

lor, representing Mangere Ward until she retired in 1995.

Honours and awards

In the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Jelicich 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 The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

Death

Jelicich died on 10 April 2015 at

Middlemore Hospital Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites. History In 1943, during World War II, construction comme ...

, Auckland at the age of 87, having been predeceased by her husband in October the previous year. She was survived by their three children.

Notes

References

*''Women in Parliamentary Life 1970–1990: Hocken Lecture 1993'' by

Marilyn Waring Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics. In 1975, aged 23, she beca ...

, p. 32 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994);

External links

Photo_of_Dorothy_Jelicich_and_Mary_Batchelor
.html" ;"title="Mary Batchelor">Photo of Dorothy Jelicich and Mary Batchelor
">Mary Batchelor">Photo of Dorothy Jelicich and Mary Batchelor
playing pool in the parliamentary Members' lounge {{DEFAULTSORT:Jelicich, Dorothy 1928 births 2015 deaths Politicians from Sydney Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School Elam Art School alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election Manukau City Councillors Hamilton City Councillors Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993