Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
ONZ | |
---|---|
3rd Minister for the Environment | |
In office 10 September 1974 – 12 December 1975 | |
Prime Minister | Bill Rowling |
Preceded by | Joe Walding |
Succeeded by | Venn Young |
20th Minister of Tourism | |
In office 8 December 1972 – 12 December 1975 | |
Prime Minister | Norman Kirk Bill Rowling |
Preceded by | Bert Walker |
Succeeded by | Harry Lapwood |
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Southern Maori | |
In office 11 March 1967 – 12 October 1996 | |
Preceded by | Eruera Tirikatene |
Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | 9 January 1932 Rātana Pā, New Zealand |
Died | 20 July 2011 Wellington, New Zealand | (aged 79)
Political party | Labour Party |
Spouse |
Denis Sullivan (m. 1967) |
Relations | Eruera Tirikatene (father) Rino Tirikatene (nephew) |
Education | Rangiora High School, Wellington East Girls' College |
Alma mater | Australian National University |
Tini "Whetu" Marama Tirikatene-Sullivan
Early life
Whetu Marama Tirikatene was born on 9 January 1932, the daughter of
Member of Parliament
Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967–1969 | 35th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1969–1972 | 36th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1972–1975 | 37th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1975–1978 | 38th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1978–1981 | 39th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1981–1984 | 40th | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1984–1987 | 41st | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1987–1990 | 42nd | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1990–1993 | 43rd | Southern Maori | Labour | ||
1993–1996 | 44th | Southern Maori | Labour |
Her brother Te Rino Tirikatene stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in the 1963 election and 1966 election for Rangiora. When their father Sir Eruera Tirikatene died in 1967 many expected Te Rino to succeed him as MP for Southern Maori. As Te Rino was part-Maori and entitled to choose between being on the Maori and European electoral rolls, at the time of the by-election he was registered on the European roll in Rangiora where he had to remain under the electoral act until the next general election, which made it unlikely he would be eligible as a candidate in Southern Maori. With her brother effectively ruled out, attention turned to Tirikatene (studying in Australia at the time) as the likely Labour candidate for the seat.[8][9] She was eventually selected as Labour's candidate.[10]
She duly was elected to succeed her father in Parliament at the
In 1970, Tirikatene-Sullivan became the second woman to give birth whilst an MP. She later became the first (both in New Zealand and the Commonwealth) cabinet minister to give birth to a child.[15]
On
Legacy
Tirikatene-Sullivan was the youngest Māori woman elected at the time, she was also the first Māori woman to be a cabinet minister, and the first sitting MP to give birth in New Zealand.
Tirikatene-Sullivan was particularly known for her style of dress, often wearing fashionable outfits rather than the suits many professional women wore at the time. She was a patron of the arts, and she commissioned garments from contemporary Māori artists. These included artists like
Notes
- ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Tirikatene-Sullivan, Tini Whetu Marama". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- )
- ^ "Rangiora High School - Alumni". Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Where the Queen went she followed". Te Ao Hou (7). Department of Maori Affairs: 11. Summer 1954. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d "New Member of Parliament for Southern Maori". Te Ao Hou (59). Department of Maori Affairs: 5. June 1967. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
- ^ "Denis Sullivan". Victoria University. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ "Maori M.P. secretly weds A.N.U. man". The Canberra Times. 15 April 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ "Tirikatene's Successor". The Press. Vol. CVI, no. 31267. 13 January 1967. p. 1.
- ^ "Mr Tirikatene Ineligible?". The Press. Vol. CVI, no. 31268. 14 January 1967. p. 1.
- ^ "Tirikatene Again". The Evening Post. 15 February 1967.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 240.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 117.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 93.
- ^ "Mothers in Parliament: The women who paved the way for Jacinda Ardern". Newshub. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ "The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 – register of recipients". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ "NZ's longest-serving female MP passes away". The New Zealand Herald. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Lynch, Jenna. "Mothers in Parliament: The women who paved the way for Jacinda Ardern". Newshub. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Timutimu, Ripeka. "Portraits of honourable female Māori MPs unveiled at Mātangireia". Māori Television. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Trail blazing wahine MPs remembered". www.waateanews.com. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Are we there yet? Women in Parliament". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "MP leaves legacy of style". NZ Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Ahwa, Dan (2 March 2020). "The Politics of Fashion: How Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan's Pioneering Style Paved The Way For Politicians Today - Viva". www.viva.co.nz. Viva Magazine. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan and husband Denis". teara.govt.nz. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand Fashion Museum". nzfashionmuseum.org.nz. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "The fashion of Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan". RNZ. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Fashion retrospective - Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan". NZ Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
References
- Women in Parliamentary Life 1970-1990: Hocken Lecture 1993 by Marilyn Waring, page 36-37 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) ISBN 0-902041-61-4
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.