Gillian Mary Hanly ( Taverner; born 1934) is a New Zealand artist. She is best known for documenting protests and social movements in New Zealand's recent history.

Early life

Hanly was born in 1934 in Levin, New Zealand. She has two younger brothers. She grew up on a sheep farm between the sea and the town of

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, where the family worked hard to contribute. She was home schooled until the age of 12, when she was sent to Nga Tawa school in Marton. She attended the

Ilam School of Fine Arts The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the 1950s, and was the first department to move to the suburban Ilam ...

in Christchurch in the early 1950s, where she trained to be a painter. She met her husband

Pat Hanly James Patrick Hanly (2 August 1932 – 20 September 2004), generally known as Pat Hanly, was a prolific New Zealand painter. One of his works is a large mural ''Rainbow Pieces'' (1971) at Chrischurch Town Hall. Early life Born in Palmerston N ...

while at Ilam.

Career

After she graduated from university she moved to London for five years, where she worked as a props buyer for a production company. After she moved back to New Zealand she worked at University Bookshop for a decade. She started working for the feminist publication ''

Broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

'' in 1972.

Artistic career

She has taken photographs of the

1981 Springbok tour The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in Republic of South Africa, South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extende ...

, the sinking of the Greenpeace ship '' The Rainbow Warrior'', the protest at

Bastion Point Takaparawhau / Bastion Point is a coastal piece of land in Ōrākei, Auckland, New Zealand, overlooking the Waitematā Harbour. The area is significant in New Zealand history as the site of protests in the late 1970s by Māori against forced la ...

, and the 1984 land hikoi. She has also documented the Queen Street riots and outrage at the

murder of Teresa Cormack Teresa Maida Cormack (18 June 1981 – 19 June 1987) was a six-year-old murder victim from Napier, New Zealand. After fifteen years, advances in genetic analysis led to conviction of Jules Mikus (28 September 1958 – 6 December 2019) for t ...

. Her photographs of the women's movement in the 1970s and 1980s featured prominently in the exhibition at

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...

, ''Are We There Yet?'' She says she is attracted to things "that were important". Hanly was associated with the long-running feminist magazine ''

''. However, she does not think she is a feminist. She also has an interest in photographing gardens. She does not describe herself as a photographic artist, but rather she sees herself as a "documenter". Hanly has been documented social protests since the 1970s including the reclamation of

and the

1981 Springbok Tour The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in Republic of South Africa, South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extende ...

Recognition

In the

1999 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday were announced on 7 June 1999 in New Zealand and Niue, and on 12 June 1999 in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.Tuvalu list: The recipients of honours ar ...

, Hanly was appointed an

Officer 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 rend ...

, for services to photography. In 2019, she was awarded an

medal, becoming a Companion of Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Personal life

Hanly was married to the painter

until he died in 2004. She has two children with Pat, and her husband had another daughter in a different relationship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanly, Gil New Zealand photographers 1934 births Living people People from Levin, New Zealand Ilam School of Fine Arts alumni New Zealand women photographers People educated at Nga Tawa Diocesan School Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit