Ethel Emma McMillan (née Black, 12 May 1904 – 13 August 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She was a Member of Parliament for Dunedin electorates for 22 years, but despite her political seniority, was not appointed a cabinet minister. She was very active in local affairs in Otago and was the first woman to be elected to

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jul ...

Biography

Early life

McMillan was born at

Kaiti Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around the ...

, Gisborne, in 1904. She was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

and

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Gisborne Girls' High School Gisborne Girls High School is a girls' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was founded in 1956 when Gisborne High School was split into two single-sex schools. History Gisborne Girls High School celebrated its 50th Jubilee i ...

. She graduated with honours in history from 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 ...

in 1926. She lectured in history at Otago for a year, during which time she met the medical student and her future husband,

Gervan McMillan David Gervan McMillan (26 February 1904 – 20 February 1951) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, and a medical practitioner. Biography McMillan was born in 1904 in New Plymouth, the eldest child of Annie Gertrude Pearce and ...

. She then taught at

Nelson College for Girls , motto_translation = Loyalty, honesty and wisdom , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = 1883; years ago , address = Trafalgar St , city = Nels ...

for three years. After their wedding on 4 September 1929 at Gisborne, they settled in

Kurow Kurow is a small town in the Waitaki District, New Zealand. It is located on the south bank of the Waitaki River, northwest of Oamaru. Description The name is an Anglicised form of the Māori name of the nearby mountain, Te Kohurau. In the ...

, where he had worked as a locum and then purchased the medical practice. They moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1934, where her husband was elected to Parliament for the Labour Party in the Dunedin West electorate in . He was cabinet minister for a year, but retired from Parliament in 1943 to concentrate on his medical practice. Gervan McMillan died from a heart disease in 1951, aged 46. During their time in Kurow, the McMillans had friendships and political discussions with their neighbours,

Arnold Nordmeyer Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer (born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, 7 February 1901 – 2 February 1989) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Minister of Finance (1957–1960) and later as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition ...

and

Jerry Skinner Clarence Farrington Skinner (19 January 1900 – 26 April 1962), commonly known as Jerry or Gerry Skinner, was a Labour politician from New Zealand, the third deputy prime minister of New Zealand between 1957 and 1960, and a minister from 1943 ...

; both would become influential MPs for the Labour Party. They also hosted

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colon ...

, who in 1935 would become

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. Her husband had been involved with the Labour Party since 1923, and Ethel McMillan joined the party in about 1930.

Local politics

McMillan had a distinguished local career in Dunedin. She was the first woman to be elected onto

in 1950 (the second woman was elected in 1970) and remained a councillor until 1980. In 1960, she became the first New Zealand woman to be appointed a trustee to a savings bank. She chaired the local savings bank's board from 1964. She had governance roles with the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society, the Otago Museum Trust, and the New Zealand Library Association.

Parliamentary career

McMillan stood in a in the North Dunedin electorate that was caused by the death of Labour's

Robert Walls Robert Walls (born 21 July 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented and in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. In a playing career that spanned three decades Robert played a combined 259 gam ...

and was elected. She continued to represent the electorate to 1963, and then

Dunedin North Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, ma ...

from to 1975, when she retired. Although she was a senior parliamentarian when Labour came to power in 1972, she was not elected to cabinet, possibly due to her strained relation with

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

. However, she did serve as Labour's Spokesperson for Health in Kirk's Shadow Cabinet. She was known as the 'Queen of Quiz' in Parliament for the numerous questions that she asked.

Later life

She 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 public services in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

, and many felt that she should have received more official recognition. She died in Dunedin on 13 August 1987. Three short streets close to the University of Otago campus were renamed in 1993 (New Zealand women's suffrage centenary year) to honour McMillan,

Emily Siedeberg Emily Hancock Siedeberg-McKinnon (17 February 1873 – 13 June 1968) was a New Zealand medical practitioner and hospital superintendent. She was also the country's first female medical graduate. Early life Siedeberg was born in 1873 in Clyde, ...

, and

Ethel Benjamin Ethel Rebecca Benjamin (19 January 1875 – 14 October 1943) was New Zealand's first female lawyer. On 17 September 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court, representing a client for the recovery of a ...

Notes

References

* *''Women in Parliamentary Life 1970-1990: Hocken Lecture 1993'' by Marilyn Waring, page 33 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Ethel New Zealand Labour Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives University of Otago alumni Academic staff of the University of Otago People from Gisborne, New Zealand 1904 births 1987 deaths New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Nelson College for Girls faculty Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Companions of the Queen's Service Order Dunedin City Councillors 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians People educated at Gisborne Girls' High School