Flora McMillan Forde (9 June 1883 – 13 December 1958) was a New Zealand political activist, feminist and welfare worker.

Early life

Forde was born on her parents' farm in Wyndham,

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

, New Zealand on 9 June 1883. Her parents were Catherine Stalker and Henry Ive. Her father later became a baker and master butcher. She attended school in Wyndham and Invercargill. She married a railway clerk, Michael Joseph Forde, on 5 November 1902 and they had two daughters and a son. Michael left his job in July 1903 to become a journalist and eventually became the chief reporter for the ''

Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. History ...

''.

Later life and activism

She began to volunteer in women and labour movements in 1910 by joining the Sixpenny Clothing Club, the Invercargill Housewives’ Union and the Southland Trades and Labour Council. She also helped set up the Southland branch of the

Worker's Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

in 1915. Forde and her husband moved 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 1917 where Michael began working in the railway industry again until he retired in 1954. Forde continued to volunteer in women and labour movements and joined the Wellington branch of the Worker's Educational Association as well as the Wellington Housewives’ Union. She joined the New Zealand Society for the Protection of Women and Children in the 1930s where she served as treasurer for 17 years and later President of the Wellington branch and served as the executive of the Southland War Funds Association 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 ...

. She was also a long-term member of the

National Council of Women of New Zealand , logo = National Council of Women of New Zealand logo.png , logo_size = 100px , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = , image_size = , alt = , capt ...

(NCW). She served as a domain secretary between 1924 and 1925 and again between 1934 and 1937 before being elected president in 1948. She also represented the NCW at the council of the New Zealand Standards Institute from 1947 until 1958. In 1935, she was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

, and in 1953, she was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

. She was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

in the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours. Forde died on 13 September 1958 in Wellington and was survived by her husband and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde, Flora McMillan 1883 births 1958 deaths 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Labour Party politicians New Zealand feminists New Zealand social workers New Zealand activists New Zealand women activists People from Wyndham, New Zealand New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire