Margaret Smith MacKay (1903–1998) was a New Zealand lawyer. She was the tenth woman in New Zealand to be admitted to the bar. MacKay was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

, in New Zealand's South Island, in 1903. Her father, Adam MacKay, had emigrated to Oamaru from Kilmarnock, Scotland, with his widowed mother and brother. He established a grocery business in the town. MacKay initially worked as a junior typist in her uncle's Oamaru law firm, Grave & Grave. She studied law by correspondence through the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. She was admitted to the bar in 1929, becoming the tenth woman in New Zealand and the second woman in Otago to be admitted to the bar. MacKay was promoted to the position of managing clerk, and in 1946 she became a partner in Lee, Grave & Zimmerman, but opposition from one partner meant that her name was not added to the partnership list until his retirement in 1961. In 1948 MacKay's uncle, A.J. Grave, died and left his private golf course at

Waianakarua The small town of Herbert, formerly Otepopo, lies in North Otago, New Zealand, north of Dunedin and south-west of Oamaru. It lies on the edge of the Herbert Forest. Herbert consists of a group of houses and three churches clustered around St ...

to MacKay. She maintained and played on the course until her death. MacKay was also actively involved with Presbyterian Support Services and the establishment of Iona Home and Hospital. A wing of the house is named after her. The Otago Women Lawyers Society awarded MacKay life membership in recognition of her pioneering career in law in Otago. MacKay died in 1998, aged 95.

References

1903 births 1998 deaths People from Oamaru New Zealand women lawyers 20th-century New Zealand lawyers University of Otago alumni 20th-century women lawyers {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub