Updated on Jul 31st 2011
Records of events
In 2011 our Young Members organised the Annual Winter Lecture
It was held on Wednesday 13 July at the Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum. Film Writer, director and producer, Gaylene preston, talked about her life and her work in a presentation entitled An Accidental Life in Film-making. Almost 200 people attended, both members and the public. Gaylene was given a standing ovation by the audience.
In 2011 we also celebrated our Otago Branch 90th Anniversary!
This was held on Sunday 31 July at the Technique Restaurant. Forty-eight members gathered together to celebrate 90 years of NZFGW(Otago). Many memories were shared and a very enjoyable afternoon was had by all.
In 2010 our Young Members group organised the annual Winter Lecture.
Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith spoke on One Woman’s Journey in Prehistory. Lisa is Professor of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, University of Otago. Her research utilizing both ancient and modern DNA to track population migrations in the Pacific has allowed her to travel and to undertake fieldwork throughout the Pacific region. She gave us a fascinating account about ways in which her studies, mentors and research have influenced her life.
In 2010 ten Otago Branch members attended the 30th IFUW Triennial Conference in Mexico City.
Louise Croot chaired the Conference; Lorraine Isaacs gave the Conference support on constitutional and procedural matters; Dorothy Page, Claire Matthewson and Sheila Williams represented NZFGW; Martine Cashell-Smith, Sian Halcrow, Lyn Foote and Shirley Gillet conducted workshops, and Shirley also gave a paper presentation. Martine was elected to the IFUW Membership Committee.
In 2010 we established the ‘Otago (New Zealand) IFUW President’s Choice Speaker’.
The first Otago (New Zealand) IFUW President’s Choice Speaker was Eileen Fegan of Ireland who spoke at the 30th IFUW Triennial Conference. She has lectured in Law at UK universities, specialising in Gender, Legal and Women’s Human Rights Education, and has been involved in educational outreach projects for women in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian Territories. She recently set up a consultancy in order to apply her academic insights in real communities and in women’s lives.
In 2010 our Branch and Young Members group ran a Workshop on Writing Submissions.
The workshop’s purpose was to educate members and non-members about writing successful submissions. Nicola Wheen from the Faculty of Law, University of Otago, was an inspiring speaker who spoke on writing submissions from a constitutional perspective. In particular she addressed the role of select committees. After lunch, Caryl O’Connor from the Dunedin Community Law Centre ran the practical part of the workshop on presenting submissions in an effective manner.
In 2008 we sponsored a plenary speaker at the New Zealand International Science Festival.
We sponsored Dr Cordelia Fine as a plenary speaker at the New Zealand International Science Festival held in Dunedin. Cordelia is an academic psychologist and writer in Australia. Her NZISF lectures were titled Sex in the Brain? and Who’s Messing with my Mind? The Branch entertained Cordelia to dinner at Etrusco’s after the opening of their Festival poster display describing NZFGW and highlighting some of our Travel Award recipients’ research and conference experiences.
In 2007 our Young Members group organised the annual Winter Lecture.
Dr Helena Catt, the first female CEO and Commissioner for the Electoral Commission, tell us of her work, career and life. She spoke of her upbringing in Scotland, her university work in England, and her emigration to NZ in 1990 to the position of Associate Professor in Political Studies, University of Auckland, specialising in aspects of democratic practice. She joined the Electoral Commission in 2004 and presently is involved in research and education work, and has broader corporate roles.
In 2007 our Branch and Young Members group ran a series of workshops for women.
The linked contributions are by three individuals who attended one of the workshops. Dr Cherie Stayner, who completed a post-doc studying polycystic kidney disease at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, USA, spoke on Do I do a Post-Doc? Dr Jenny Bedford, Physiology Research Fellow at the University of Otago, spoke about Curriculum Vitaes. Professor Rosalind Gibson asked the question “Why consider a post doctoral position?” Why Post-Doc?
In 2005 we published Cracks in a Glass Ceiling: NZ Women 1975-2004 by Joyce Herd.
Cracks in a Glass Ceiling is based on research by Claudia Bell commissioned by our Branch. New Zealand women from many backgrounds, ages and geographical locations were interviewed. Their responses form the basis of a fascinating study, written by Joyce Herd and published by our Branch, which records the retrospective thoughts of women who were part of the revitalizing years of the later twentieth century when advocacy for further changes in women’s lives was at its height.
Joyce was a long-time member of the Otago Branch of NZFGW and a Life Member of the Dunedin Branch of the National Council of Women. Her publications include: An Index to Tomorrow (the radical NZ periodical of the 1930s), Women in Trade Unions, Women at Home, What Price Equality? Our commissioning of research and the publication of Joyce’s book are examples of types of support the Otago Branch may offer researchers and groups publicising the experiences of women and girls.
The book contains 117 pages; 46 photographs; 7 pages of chronology; index. Research documents on which it is based are deposited in the Hocken Library, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.