Otago Pioneer Women's Memorial Association Hall: Interview with Rachael Francis
The Story of the Otago Pioneer Women’s Memorial Association Hall – An
Interview with Rachael Francis, Historian in Residence
The hall today
The hall as it appeared in 1925
Suffrage in this country was undoubtedly a major
achievement, with New Zealand being the first nation in the world to achieve
this step towards gender parity. However, progress in terms of gender equality
after 1893 was halting in many respects – the suffrage movement dissipated and
not much changed in terms of legislation or cultural attitudes towards women. In
fact, 50 years after suffrage in New
Zealand women still couldn’t sign off on renting a public hall in Dunedin but
had to have their husband do this for them. Thus began the story of the Otago
Pioneer Women’s Memorial Association hall.
-
In 1936 preparations had begun for New Zealand’s centennial
in 1940, which would include various memorials to New Zealand’s early settlers
and pioneers. The Otago Women’s Centennial Council was formed and aimed to
establish a memorial to the pioneer women of Otago in the form of a hall so
that women could have a convenient space to meet outside the home. However, it
became progressively clear that the Council would not support the venture, preferring to plant an avenue of trees at Signal Hill, and the women were discouraged from applying for funding from the Central Centennial
Fund. Due to the threat of legal action if the women continued to use the name
Centennial, the group also had to change their name and on March 14, 1939
became the Otago Pioneer Women’s Memorial Association.
The Association wished to persevere in establishing a hall
for the use of women and others in Dunedin. In the words of Rachael Francis,
Resident Historian at the Otago Pioneer Women’s Memorial Association, the hall
was to be a:
“… third space for women outside
of home and work when previously women had nowhere to meet and needed men’s
sign off to use spaces; a memorial to the pioneer women of New Zealand who
faced a deal of hardship in coming here; and a space in town that would operate
like a village hall. It would always be
affordable, and to this day only costs $20 an hour to rent.”
The hall also provided the function of a public toilet for
women in Dunedin – there were minimal public conveniences for women available
during this time, as “women were not seen to be in public spaces and so there
was deemed to be no demand" (
Despite lack of local council and Government support, the Association
held a “meeting of indignation” and decided they would begin a crowd-funding endeavour
to achieve their goal. A committee of 30 women in Dunedin in conjunction with
other interested parties, both male and female and the Girl Guides, issued
fliers to every home they possibly could in the city - some 36,000. Within 10
years (1946) the Otago Pioneer Women’s Memorial Association hall was born.
The hall stands to this day at 362 Moray Place. The first
thing you encounter upon entering the space is a remarkable stained glass
window, featuring cabbage trees, ferns and a Maori meetinghouse. The window
commemorates the arrival of pioneer women in Otago and their bravery in facing
a dangerous sea voyage and starting a new life in a foreign land.
At the time, the concept was controversial. Rachael states: “It was a really contentious idea, that women would want to come out of the home
and meet and that women wanted to meet independently of their husbands and have
a bit more control of their affairs.” But the women involved were determined
and dedicated to achieving their goal, from organizing a crowd-funding campaign
to rationing their own sugar during the war to provide enough for tea at
meetings in the hall.
The power of belonging to a group and achieving something
bigger than themselves was also a huge motivating factor – “Emily Seiderberg-McKinnon
[the original President of the Association, first female doctor in Dunedin and
author of a book about the hall] uses the word fellowship a lot in her book…
the idea of sharing something with a like-minded group and taking part in
community life.”
In this way, the hall is an example of what a group of
determined people can achieve when they combine their efforts towards a shared
vision. This is work that continues today, with the Association consisting
of 130 members and five generations of women, ranging from age 19 to their late
80s. One women I met has been a part of the Association for decades, with her
grandmother having been an original founding member, and her granddaughter
having just joined. In
this respect, the hall is unique in Australasia. The first of its kind in New
Zealand, it’s the only memorial hall still owned and run as a public hall by a
Women’s Memorial Association.
Similarly, its members still operate on an entirely
voluntary basis, including Rachael who applies for grants, reaches out to
interested members of the public and to the media, and conducts research for
the Association. The effort involved in maintaining the hall is “constant”,
with the Association getting funding from the Lion Foundation, bequeathments,
the DCC, COGS, via various fundraising methods, hiring out the hall and through
in-kind services. Everything is done on a shoestring and the hall is successful
because of its dedicated volunteers who still believe in the core values of the
organisation – to provide a public space for women and the community at large,
and to honour the women who came before us.
Although no trans people have applied to join the
Association, Rachael states that “anybody who identifies as female can be a
part of it.” I discussed with her the homogenous nature of the organisation at
its outset, as it consisted of representatives from mainly Pakeha women’s organisations.
While the organisation now has women of four or five different nationalities
and some Maori women, it’s also interested in diversifying its membership base
into the future. The hall is also physically inaccessible for those with
physical disabilities, which is something the organisation is looking into rectifying
as part of it’s package of building upgrades in the future.
-
The hall can be rented for $20/hour for a large range of
community or private purposes, including birthdays and market days. You can find the Association on Facebook here.
Rachael is also writing a booklet about what is involved in
“maintaining a building as a community asset, as a memorial, as a safe space
for women so it’s here for another 80 years.” This was released on 8th
August 2018.
great post and lovely photos
ReplyDeleteThank you Penny-Rose!
Delete