United Women's Conventions New Zealand
Herstory of United Women's Conventions in New Zealand
First held in Auckland in 1973, the aim was "to raise the status and self confidence of women and to increase the numbers of women willing to work on behalf of women's issues." Guest speakers included Phillipa Bunkle, Margaret Wilson, Mira Szasy, Margaret Shields, Marion Logeman, Marcia Russell and from overseas Elizabeth Reid and Katharine Whitehorn.
A range of subjects were talked about along with many workshops, some of the these were:
- Historical women's movement
- Discrimination
- Māori women in Pakeha society
- Family life
- Community and social change
- Employment
- Politics
- Sexuality
1,500 people attended this conference held at the Y.M.C.A. Halls and the University of Auckland.
In 1974 a regional gathering of women was held at the Hamilton Teachers' College and was intended to fill a gap between the conventions held in '73 and '75.
This convention was chaired by Rosemary Seymour and some of the documentation about this convention is found in our archives.
This brochure shows us that there were 6 keynote addresses on Women and Politics, Economics, The Law, Education, The Family and Health.
Of note is the Keynote address for Women and the Law given by Ms Sylvia Cartwright. There is a booklet of this conference with the address of all the topics.
There are also audio recordings of some of the speakers at this convention in our archives. To listen to these please fill in our Archives Request Form and Library staff will be in touch set up a time for you to visit the Library.
In 1972 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare 1975 International Women's Year. So not only was the convention held in Wellington in 1975 but other gatherings around the country were held.
In our collection there is a report from the Waikato on the happenings and what was on throughout the year. There was a public lecture by Dr. Margaret Mead in June along with the Women's Suffrage Exhibition Official Opening at the Waikato Art Museum. Further displays or talks, some competitions and seminars were also held. You can explore more archives related to International Women's Year in the Rosemary Seymour Collection, Series 48.
In 1975 the convention was held in Wellington at the show building. The convention's aim was the same and the speaker for this year was Margaret Mead speaking about "Diversity of choice for women" with commentaries on her address by Cathy Wylie, Ephra Garrett and Sonja Davies. 2,200 people attended.
Workshops were held on a variety of topics including:
- Education
- Equal pay
- Trade Unions
- The media, women and pregnancy
- Politics
- Sexuality
- and many others
In 1977 the convention was held in Christchurch at the Town Hall and University for 2,600 people. Speakers were Rosemary Ronald, Helen Marieskind, Toni Church, Elsie Locke, Christine Dann and Fanaura Kingstone. Subjects included:
- Women's health and bodies - pregnancy and birth
- Women in the media and politics
- Violence in the home
- Child care, family life and personal development
- and many others
The last convention was held in Hamilton in 1979 at the University of Waikato for 2,500 people and the guest speakers were Charlotte Bunch and Martine Levy. Workshop topics were:
- Women and Health
- Women as Chattels
- Institutions of Power
- The Women's Movement
- Communication
More details about this convention can be found in this archive. There are also several objects that have been retained from the convention, including the gavel used during the convention and a banner that was hung.
Resources:
Rosemary Seymour Archives Series 43, 44 and 48
United Women's Convention Archive
