Eliza Ellen Melville (13 May 1882 – 27 July 1946) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician. She was New Zealand's second female lawyer, and the first woman elected to a city council in New Zealand. She sat on the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
for 33 years and was tireless in her work for women's organisations and causes, including in particular the
. She believed in the importance of women participating fully and equally in public life, and was a key figure in the revival of the feminist movement in New Zealand after women's suffrage. She was one of the first women to stand for Parliament in New Zealand and ultimately stood (unsuccessfully) seven times.
Early life
Melville was born in Tokatoka, a neighborhood in Arapohue, on the
Wairoa River south of
Dargaville
Dargaville ( mi, Takiwira) is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangāre ...
. Her father Alexander Melville was a farmer and boatbuilder, while her mother Eliza () was a former teacher, who had run a private school in
Hokitika
Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...
with her sister in the 1870s. Melville was the third of their seven children.
She was taught at home by her mother until she was seven, and her mother's influence contributed to her lifelong belief in the importance of education and knowledge. Later in life she was to speak of the "armour of education".
From age seven she attended Tokatoka School. In 1895 she was second in New Zealand in the Junior District Scholarship, which entitled her to study for three years at what is now
Auckland Girls' Grammar School
"Through trials to triumph"
, colours = gold, navy blue
, type = State single-sex girls' secondary school (Years 9–13)
, established = 1878
, address = Howe Street, Newton, Auckland
, coordinates =
, principal = Ngaire Ashmore ...
(then part of
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
). She boarded with relatives in Auckland during this period. Although it is not known why Martin decided to become a lawyer, it was while she was at secondary school that
Ethel Benjamin
Ethel Rebecca Benjamin (19 January 1875 – 14 October 1943) was New Zealand's first female lawyer. On 17 September 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court, representing a client for the recovery of a ...
became the first woman to be admitted as a lawyer in New Zealand.
Legal career
In 1898, Melville finished secondary school and passed the Solicitors' General Knowledge Examination. She was too young to study law at university at this time, so joined the Auckland firm of Devore and Cooper (later Devore and Martin) as a clerk and received her early training there. One of the partners,
Albert Devore was a former
mayor of Auckland
The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amal ...
and encouraged her to enter local politics, and the law firm was supportive of her studies. In 1904 she enrolled at
Auckland University College
, 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 ...
. Her family was unable to provide her with financial support so she attended night classes and continued working at the firm. While studying she met and befriended
Geraldine Hemus, the only other female law student at the time.
When Melville was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in 1906, she was only the second woman in New Zealand to reach this stage after Ethel Benjamin.
Melville established her own legal practice, being the first woman in New Zealand to do so, and practised on her own account for 37 years. Her legal practice consisted mainly of
conveyancing
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contrac ...
and was a means of financial support, which enabled her to establish a political career.
Political career
Melville was highly active in promoting women's causes, and in encouraging full participation by women in public life. Much of her activity centred on women's associations and committees, and she held a number of senior positions in such organisations. She was a strong advocate of women seeking political office. She felt it was important, however, that women in politics not confine themselves to women's concerns: speaking in 1921 she said "women must act as Citizens rather than members of one sex and work not as women against men, but as men and women together". She also believed that there should be no favours for women because of their sex, and argued that women had to compete equally with men to earn their place in the world.
Auckland City Council
In the
1913 Auckland City election she became the first woman to be elected to a city council in New Zealand, gaining a seat on the Auckland City Council which she held for 33 consecutive years to 1946. In this role she introduced women's groups to the council and fought discrimination on such issues as the employment of women as tram conductors and the granting of taxi licences to women.
She tended to be conservative in issues not relating to women's rights, and took part in all aspects of civic work, including sitting on the key finance committee, chairing the library committee and working on parks issues.
Journalist
Robin Hyde
Robin Hyde, the pseudonym used by Iris Guiver Wilkinson (19 January 1906 – 23 August 1939), was a South African-born New Zealand poet, journalist and novelist.
Early life
Wilkinson was born in Cape Town to an English father and an Australia ...
observed that although initially Melville was viewed by her male colleagues as "rather an improper joke", she came to be respected for her "logical mind and abundant common sense ... The contributions she made to debates were always models of their kind, brief, completely thought-out and containing original ideas of real value."
She was, however, passed over in 1938 and 1941 for the role of deputy mayor, despite being the most qualified candidate by virtue of seniority and ability, which resulted in objections from women's groups.
Women's organisations
Melville was a driver of the revival of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCW) in 1918, having called the first meeting of the Auckland NCW branch in 1917, and the following year attending the preliminary conference in Wellington where the NCW was formally reinstated. She became the first president of the Auckland branch and from 1919 to 1922 was national president. In her work for the NCW she travelled to Europe in 1924 with
Elsie Mary Griffin in order to meet other prominent feminists. In the United Kingdom she assisted
Lady Astor
Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945.
Astor's first husband was America ...
with her electioneering campaign and stayed with
Lady Aberdeen. In 1934 she was a delegate to the conference of the Pan-Pacific and South East Asian Women's Association in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
.
During the
Depression, she argued that women should pay the same unemployment levy as men in order to qualify for relief work. She also spoke out against an NCW resolution that domestic workers should not pay tax, saying that those who had proposed the resolution had "allowed a lot of sloppy sentiment to influence them ... The women who follow this employment are honoured and valued citizens who should be prepared to bear the burden of tax. If the National Council stands for the equality of women, it cannot endorse this pernicious exception."
She also held office in the Auckland Unemployed Women's Emergency Committee during this time,
and travelled around the country urging people to buy New Zealand-made goods and support local businesses.
She believed strongly that women must work together to advance their cause, and established a number of other women's groups, including the Auckland
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
Club for businesswomen, of which she was secretary and later vice-president, the Auckland Lyceum Club and the New Zealand Society for the Protection of Women and Children.
In 1914 she founded a woman's society called the Auckland Civic League, with the goal of working with the city to improve social conditions. She urged women to take a broad view and "get in personal touch with the women's movement throughout the world".
Parliamentary campaigns
Melville was active in the campaign that led to the Women's Parliamentary Rights Act 1919, allowing women to stand for Parliament for the first time (despite women having been given the vote in 1893). Melville believed that:
Together with
Rosetta Baume and
Aileen Cooke, Melville was one of the first three women to stand for Parliament in New Zealand. In the
1919 general election, she was the candidate for the
Reform Party in the
electorate of Grey Lynn. Despite the fact that this electorate was traditionally a
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, she won 30.9% of the vote to Labour's 36.5%.
Baume and Cooke also failed to be elected, and a political cartoon at the time showed two women standing outside a house labelled "Woman's Kingdom", with Baume saying to Melville: "After all, dear, there's no place like home for a woman. We can always get elected to this house without opposition." In the
1922 general election, she was not selected as a candidate, allegedly being blocked by political organiser
Albert Davy
Albert Ernest Davy (17 August 1886 – 13 June 1959) was a New Zealand political organiser and campaign manager; and at the height of his career, was regarded as one of the best in the country.
He was a strong opponent of socialism, and spent m ...
. Melville believed that she had been blocked due to the Reform Party not wanting a woman as a candidate (in part because the selected candidate was a former member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
), and she stood as an independent candidate in
Roskill.
She was however selected as the Reform Party's candidate for Grey Lynn in the
1925 general election, and secured 5,296 votes against the incumbent's 6,061. The ''Hokitika Guardian'' noted that she had secured more votes "than any other woman has ever polled".
In a
1926 by-election in
Eden, after being dissatisfied with the Reform Party's process of candidate selection, she stood as an independent candidate. Having two candidates split the Reform Party's vote and assisted
Rex Mason
Henry Greathead Rex Mason (3 June 1885 – 2 April 1975) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the directio ...
, the
Labour Party candidate, to win the seat; an event which damaged her reputation within the party.
She subsequently stood in the
1928 general election, the
1931 general election, and the
1943 election, generally performing well but never winning.
Although unsuccessful, her campaigns gave her an opportunity to publicise and advance the interests of the NCW, including raising the age of consent and appointing women police.
She was one of six candidates who stood for selection for the electorate by the
National Party for the , but Harry Merritt was chosen instead.
Later years and legacy
In 1935, Melville was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1944, she founded the Women for Wellington movement, which encouraged women to stand for Parliament and other political offices, and provided training on public speaking and committee work. It was however a small group and did not survive her death.
Melville died on 27 July 1946 in
Remuera
Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...
. Her coffin was laid in state in the Auckland City Council chamber, and the city flags were flown at half-mast. The prime minister,
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...
, spoke at her funeral, which was attended by hundreds of representatives of women's groups and local authorities. Three trucks were needed to take flowers to the graveside at
Waikumete Cemetery
Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery, is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery.
History
Waikumete Cemetery ...
.
After her death, the NCW called a meeting in Auckland to discuss an appropriate memorial for her. The city mayor,
John Allum
Sir John Andrew Charles Allum (27 January 1889 – 16 September 1972) was a New Zealand businessman and engineer, and was Mayor of Auckland City from 1941 to 1953.
Biography Early life and career
Allum was born in London and educated at Goldsm ...
, said at this meeting that "her service will remain forever an example to all citizens and in particular to the younger women of our city and indeed of our dominion".
It was at this meeting that the NCW decided to commemorate her by building a hall for women, which led to the opening of the
Ellen Melville Hall (now the Ellen Melville Centre) in central Auckland in 1962.
When the centre was refurbished in 2017, a new bronze sculpture by
Lisa Reihana
Lisa Marie Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017 Venice Biennale.
Early life
...
, titled ''Justice'', was added to the outside of the building to celebrate Melville's life and work.
Melville Park in
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
is also named after her,
having been acquired by the city in 1917, and for many years has had a reputation as a women's sportsground.
References
External links
Political cartoon by an unknown cartoonist featuring Melville and Baume, 1919
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melville, Ellen
1882 births
1946 deaths
Auckland City Councillors
New Zealand feminists
New Zealand women lawyers
People from the Northland Region
People educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School
Reform Party (New Zealand) politicians
New Zealand National Party politicians
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election
Local politicians in New Zealand
20th-century New Zealand women politicians
20th-century New Zealand politicians
20th-century New Zealand lawyers