Sandra Lorraine Coney (née Pearce, born 22 October 1944) is a New Zealand local-body politician, writer, feminist,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and women's health campaigner.

Early life and family

Coney was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 22 October 1944, the daughter of Doris Margaret Pearce (née Morgan) and Tom Pearce. Her father chaired the Auckland Regional Council from 1965 to 1976 and was a

New Zealand Rugby Football Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

administrator. Coney was educated at

Auckland Girls' Grammar School "Through trials to triumph" , colours = gold, navy blue , type = State single-sex girls' secondary school (Years 9–13) , established = 1878 , address = Howe Street, Newton, Auckland , coordinates = , principal = Ngaire Ashmore ...

, and went on to study at the

University of Auckland , 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 ...

, where she completed a

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 year ...

degree.

Activist career

She is best known for her co-authorship (with

Phillida Bunkle Phillida Bunkle (born 1944) is a former New Zealand politician. She represented the Alliance in Parliament from to 2002, when she retired. Bunkle was for many years a lecturer at Victoria University. Early life Bunkle was born in Sussex, En ...

) of a ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

'' magazine article that alleged that women had been experimented on, without their consent, at National Women's Hospital in

. The article, titled 'The Unfortunate Experiment', led to the controversial

Cartwright Inquiry The Cartwright Inquiry was a committee of inquiry held in New Zealand from 1987 to 1988 that was commissioned by the Minister of Health, Michael Bassett, to investigate whether, as alleged in an article in ''Metro'' magazine, there had been a f ...

, which confirmed the article's allegations. The article and the subsequent inquiry are seen as a turning point in healthcare ethics in New Zealand. Coney has been involved in other women's health causes, and in 1984 co-founded with Bunkle Women's Health Action to co-ordinate claims by women who had been injured by the Dalkon Shield

IUD An intrauterine device (IUD), also known as intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD or ICD) or coil, is a small, often T-shaped birth control device that is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. IUDs are one form of long-acting rever ...

. Coney was the co-founder of the feminist magazine '' Broadsheet'', which she co-edited for 14 years. She is the author or editor of 14 books, including the major Suffrage Centennial publication ''Standing in the Sunshine'' (1993), which was also a television series. She wrote a regular column of political and social comment for the Sunday-Times for 16 years from 1986. She is also involved in the local politics of the

Piha Piha is a coastal settlement in West Auckland, on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, and especially ...

area such as the unsuccessful campaign against the Piha cafe. She has also written an history of Piha, and is currently researching

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

soldiers from the Piha area.

Political career

Between 2001 and 2010, Coney represented

Waitakere City Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was ...

on the Auckland Regional Council (ARC), and served as Chair of the Parks and Heritage Committee between 2004 and 2010. In October 2010, she was elected as a representative of the

Waitākere Ward Waitākere Ward is a district of Auckland Council in New Zealand. It consists of the part of the old Waitakere City lying west of a line from Te Atatū Peninsula to Titirangi. The ward elects two councillors, currently Shane Henderson and Ken ...

on the Auckland Council on the Best for the West ticket. She was also elected as an independent representative on the

Waitematā District Health Board The Waitemata District Health Board (Waitemata DHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to people living in the area that used to be covered by North Shore city, Rodney District, and Waitakere City in New Zealand. ...

. In the

2013 Auckland local elections The 2013 Auckland local elections took place between 20 September and 12 October and were conducted by postal vote. The elections were the second since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed of the mayor and 20 ...

, Coney stood down as a councillor, endorsing fellow Future West candidate Christine Rose for the position. She was re-elected to the Waitemata District Health Board, and was elected to a new role as chair of the Waitakere Ranges Local Board, having received the most votes of any of the board's members. At the 2016 Auckland elections, Coney stood for Future West and was re-elected to the Waitākere Ranges Local Board, the Waitemata District Health Board and the Portage Licensing Trust.

Writing career

Coney is the author of more than 30 books on topics including history, feminism, and women's health care.

Honours

In 1990, Coney received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, 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 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Coney was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

, for services to women's health.

Selected bibliography

* 2009: ''Piha: guardians of the iron sands: the first 75 years of the Piha Surf Life Saving Club''. Piha Surf Life Saving, * 1998: ''Stroppy sheilas and gutsy girls: New Zealand women of dash and daring''. Tandem Press, * 1997: ''Piha: a history in images''. Keyhole Press, * 1996: ''Feeling fabulous at 40, 50 and beyond''. Tandem Press, * 1995: ''I do: 125 years of weddings in New Zealand''. Moa Beckett (NZ), * 1993: ''Standing in the sunshine: a history of New Zealand women since they won the vote''. Viking, * 1993: ''Unfinished business: what happened to the Cartwright Report?'' Women's Health Action, Auckland. * 1991: ''The Menopause Industry: How the Medical Establishment Exploits Women''. Penguin (U.S. Edition 1994) * 1990: ''Hysterectomy''. Heinemann Reed (NZ), * 1990: ''Out of the Frying Pan: Inflammatory Writing 1972–89. Penguin * 1988: ''The Unfortunate Experiment: The full story behind the inquiry into cervical cancer treatment''. Penguin. * 1986: ''Every girl: a social history of women and the YWCA in Auckland 1885–1985''. Auckland YWCA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coney, Sandra 1944 births Living people New Zealand feminists New Zealand left-wing activists New Zealand writers New Zealand women writers Auckland Councillors 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Companions of the Queen's Service Order Auckland regional councillors Feminist historians Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 People from Auckland People educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Waitemata District Health Board members