Dame Jocelyn Barbara Fish (née Green; 29 September 1930 – 19 September 2021) was a New Zealand women's rights campaigner.

Biography

Fish was born Jocelyn Barbara Green, the daughter of Edna and John Green, at

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

on 29 September 1930. She was educated at Whangarei High School and Hamilton High School, and went on to study 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 ...

, graduating

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1952. She trained as a secondary school teacher, and taught at

Fairfield College Fairfield College is a co-educational state secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand. Located in the north-east suburb of Fairfield, it was founded in 1957. Built on the site of a former dairy farm which is leased from Tainui iwi, it is one o ...

until her marriage to Robert John Malthus Fish, a farmer, in 1959. The couple had three children. In 1980, Jocelyn Fish was elected as a Piako County councillor, the first woman in that role, and served until 1989. She was national president of the National Council of Women from 1986 to 1990, and served as a member of the

Film and Literature Board of Review The Film and Literature Board of Review is the appeals body for New Zealand's print and media censorship system, set up by the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. It reviews decisions made by the Office of Film and Literature ...

between 1981 and 1984. She was a member of the New Zealand national commission of UNESCO between 1989 and 1995, and was one of a group of women who lobbied for 1993 to be recognised as Women's Suffrage Year in New Zealand. Fish died in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

on 19 September 2021, aged 90.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Fish 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 ...

. The following year, in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a

Commander 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 the community, and in 1993 she was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. In the 2001 New Year Honours, Fish was appointed a

Distinguished Companion 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 ren ...

, for services to women and the community, and in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she accepted redesignation as a

Dame Companion 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Jocelyn 1930 births 2021 deaths People from Whangārei People educated at Whangarei Girls' High School People educated at Hamilton Girls' High School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand schoolteachers Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace