Helen Mary Smith (25 May 1927 – 26 December 2007) was a

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

city councillor from 1973 until 2001. First elected in a by-election in as a

Values Party The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellingto ...

candidate, Smith stood as Values candidate for the Porirua electorate in the , and elections, with votes of 1051, 2176 and 2043; coming third each time and gaining the highest number of votes of any Values Party candidate in the country in 1978. Smith was also the runner-up in the 1977 mayoral election in Porirua. Smith was an activist in Porirua over several community issues. From 1980 to 2001, when she was narrowly defeated (leaving no artists on the council) Smith was chairperson of the Community Development Committee, which saw her responsible for the library services in Porirua, widely considered to be excellent. She was also strong supporter for the

Pataka Pātaka Art + Museum is a municipal museum and art gallery of Porirua City, New Zealand. Te Marae o Te Umu Kai o Hau is the name of the building where Pātaka Museum + Art is located and opened in 1998. It also houses the Porirua City Library, Caf ...

Complex and an art gallery in Porirua. The

Porirua City Council Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. T ...

has named a room in the local Pataka Museum and a prize after her. She lived in Titahi Bay with her husband Dr Allan Smith and had four children and numerous grandchildren.

References

External links

*http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22382043?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=Helen+Smith+Porirua+Values+Party **http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23062058?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=Helen+Smith+Porirua+Values+Party *http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/kapi-mana-news/3910348/Pukerua-Bay-artist-seeks-seat-on-Porirua-council
Helen Smith Family Award
* U.S.

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

, 9 September 1973, "Helen Smith is the first elected representative of a new political party which sent shock-waves through both the established parties at New Zealand's general election, and which each of them would dearly love to assimilate before next time." *two references to her from Index NZ; Evening Post 10 September 2001 p18 & Dominion Post 17 January 2008 pB7.

1927 births 2007 deaths Porirua City Councillors 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Values Party politicians People from Porirua 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1972 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-politician-stub