Elspeth Cantlie Kennedy (born Elsie Cantlie Myron; 3 April 1931 – 8 January 2017) was a New Zealand sharebroker and community leader. She was the first woman in New Zealand to be elected as a member of a metropolitan stock exchange, and the first to run her own broking firm. Kennedy chaired the Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust from 1998 to 2014.

Early life and family

Born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

on 3 April 1931 as Elsie Cantlie Myron, she was educated at Southland Girls' High School. She showed early business acumen, running her grandfather's coal retailing business when she was just 17 years old, and then worked at the Invercargill City Council where she became credit manager at the age of 20 years. In 1952 Kennedy went to Britain to study singing, qualifying as a Fellow of Trinity College London. Returning to New Zealand, Kennedy later settled in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in the 1970s, where she taught at the Nelson School of Music. She married James Kennedy-Simpson. The couple had three children but later divorced.

Sharebroking career

In 1979, Kennedy was employed by

Frank Renouf Sir Francis Henry Renouf (31 July 191813 September 1998) was a New Zealand stockbroker and financier. Early life Born in Wellington on 31 July 1918, Renouf was the son of Mary Ellen Renouf (née Avery) and Francis Charles Renouf. He was educated ...

as the local-body specialist at his

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 ...

sharebroking firm, and three years later she became the first woman in New Zealand to become a member of a metropolitan stock exchange when she was elected to the Wellington Exchange. Kennedy joined Francis Allison Symes in 1984, establishing that firm's local authority money market. She was the first New Zealand woman, in January 1987, to establish her own brokerage firm, Kennedy Sharebrokers, which merged with Main Corporation later that year.

Later business activities

After resigning as chair of Main Corporation in December 1987, Kennedy was involved in setting up the Government Computer Service, of which she was a director until 1993. She also served as deputy chair of the Nelson Bays Business Development Board, chair of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

Promotion Association, and a director of various companies including

Mount Cook Group Mount Cook Group was a New Zealand tourism and transport operator founded on 2 April 1912 by Rodolph Lysaght Wigley. Originally a road transport business, the ''Mount Cook Tourist Company of New Zealand'' became a public company in 1928. By 1930 ...

Community service

Kennedy became a trustee of the Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust in 1998, and served as chair of that organisation from 1998 until 2014. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Nelson Hospice in 1999.

Honours and awards

In the 1990 New Year Honours, Kennedy was appointed a

Member 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 tourism. Also in 1990 she received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. She 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 services to the community in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

. In 2003, Kennedy was named Nelsonian of the Year by the ''

Nelson Mail ''The Nelson Mail'' is a 4-day a week newspaper in Nelson, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It was founded in 1866 as ''The Nelson Evening Mail''; the first edition was published on 5 March 1866. It absorbed another local paper, ' ...

'' newspaper. She was posthumously inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

in 2018.

Death

Kennedy died in Nelson on 8 January 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Elspeth 1931 births 2017 deaths People from Invercargill People educated at Southland Girls' High School New Zealand stockbrokers Women stockbrokers New Zealand women in business New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Queen's Service Order