Mavis Tiller
Born
Mavis Ada Gell

(1901-11-25)November 25, 1901
Wellington, New Zealand
DiedJuly 25, 1989(1989-07-25) (aged 87)
London[1]
Occupations
  • Women's advocate
  • scientist
Known forPresident of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (1966–1970)
Spouse
Leslie Walter Tiller
​
​
(m. 1937; died 1981)​
Children3

Mavis Ada Tiller CBE (née Gell; 25 November 1901 – 25 July 1989) was a New Zealand women's advocate, scientist and president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 1966 to 1970.

Early life and career

Tiller was born in Wellington. Her father worked for the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department for some years, but when she was young, the family moved to London.[2][3]

Tiller attended Bedford College, London, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (second class honours) in chemistry from the University of London in 1923.[4] After graduating she first worked as science mistress at the Roedean School, Johannesburg,[3] and subsequently worked in the metallurgy department at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington. In 1937 she married Leslie Tiller, a fellow New Zealander and scientist, at St Alban's Church.[2][5] They returned to live in Wellington where they had a daughter, born in 1938, and two sons born in 1941 and 1944.[6][7][8]

Activism

From the early 1950s, Tiller was involved with many organisations including the Wellington Mothers' Helpers Association, the Women's Migration and Overseas Appointments Society, the NCWNZ, the International Council of Women (ICW), and the United Nations Association of Wellington.[9][10] From 1961 to 1966 she was the president of the Wellington branch of the NCWNZ, and in 1966 she represented New Zealand at the ICW conference in Tehran.[11] For nearly twenty years she was the president of the Wellington Mothers' Helpers Association and was awarded a life membership for her work.[11]

From 1966 to 1970 she served as the national president of the NCWNZ. She was instrumental in modernising the organisation and in establishing the Parliamentary Watch Committee, which became an effective advocate for women by making submissions on bills and discussion papers.[12][13] In 1970 she led New Zealand's delegation to the ICW conference in Bangkok.[11] In the 1971 Birthday Honours she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for this role.[14] From 1973 to 1982 she served as the vice-convenor, then convenor, of the ICW's Standing Committee on International Relations and Peace.[9] In 1976 she was made a life member of the NCWNZ, the highest award bestowed by the organisation.[11] Also in that year, she received the Adelaide Ristori Prize from the Italian Cultural Centre, a feminist organisation, for outstanding service.[15]

Tiller was appointed to the Royal Commission on Social Security in 1969, which reported in 1972. She was the only woman on the commission and the first woman to sit on a Royal Commission in New Zealand for 30 years.[10][16][11] Historian Dorothy Page has said that it was only as a result of Tiller asking the National Development Council at a conference session, "Where are the women?", that Miriam Dell was subsequently appointed as the first woman on the Council in 1969.[16]

In the 1987 New Year Honours Tiller was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the community.[17][18]

References

  1. ↑ "Mrs Mavis Tiller". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Overseas Weddings: Tiller–Gell". New Zealand Herald. 12 October 1937. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Women's Corner". Press. 1 August 1924. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Bachelor of Science: Honours and Higher Degrees: Internal Students". British History Online. University of London Press. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Personal". Poverty Bay Herald. 11 May 1936. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Births". Evening Post. 12 October 1938. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Births". Evening Post. 4 October 1941. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Births". Evening Post. 10 March 1944. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Tiller, Mavis Ada, 1901-1989". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Tiller, Mavis Ada, 1901-1989: Papers". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mavis Tiller honoured". The Press. 30 September 1976. p. 12. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Macdonald, Charlotte (Winter 1997). "In for the long haul". New Zealand Review of Books (30). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Jones, Heidi (2013). A Historical Analysis Of The Status Of Women In New Zealand: Has Cedaw Had An Impact? (PDF) (Masters of Laws). University of Waikato. p. 30. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "No. 45386". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1971. pp. 5997–6000.
  15. ↑ "Italian prize given to N.Z. women". The Press. 13 April 1977. p. 12. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  16. 1 2 Page, Dorothy (1996). The National Council of Women, A Centennial History. Auckland, NZ: Auckland University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-8694-0154-2. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "No. 50766". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1986. pp. 33–37.
  18. ↑ "New Year honours 1987" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 3. 16 January 1987. pp. 91–93.
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