Escaped youth tracked by Eagle helicopter, found hiding in New Brighton
The young person who escaped from a youth justice facility in Rolleston has been located...
A restored headstone for pioneering Christchurch politician Mabel Howard will be unveiled this weekend, honouring one of New Zealand’s most influential early female leaders.
The headstone at Bromley Cemetery was damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes and has since been carefully restored.
Howard was first elected to Parliament for Christchurch East in a 1943 by-election and went on to become a senior figure in the first Labour Government.
She later represented the Sydenham electorate from 1946 until her retirement in 1969.
In 1947 she was appointed Minister of Health and Minister in charge of Child Welfare, becoming the first woman to serve in Cabinet in New Zealand.
Christchurch East MP Reuben Davidson and the Christchurch East Labour Electorate Committee, alongside members of the Howard family, are hosting the unveiling on Saturday 18 April from 2pm.
The ceremony will mark Howard’s legacy of public service and her historic place in New Zealand political history as the country’s first female Cabinet minister.
Mabel Howard writing at her desk | 28 June 1949 Credit: Hocken Collections
Davidson said it was a fitting coincidence the unveiling would fall on Howard’s birthday, even though it had not been planned that way.
“It’s important we acknowledge her legacy, and restoring her grave is the right and respectful thing to do, making sure people can visit and remember her.”
Christchurch East MP Reuben Davidson
He said the restoration ensured one of Christchurch’s most significant political figures would continue to be recognised for generations to come.
In a previous interview, former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark described Mabel as “a feisty, very resilient, very strong woman, and she had to be, because she really was flying solo in a man’s world.
“Mabel cracked the glass ceiling. No woman had ever been a Cabinet minister before. She did it back in the 1940s, so of course she then became a model for others to look up to and think, ‘that could be me.’ When I first went to Parliament, my aspiration was one day to be a minister like Mabel.”
Organisers will also use the occasion to launch the Mabel Bowden Howard Grant, aimed at supporting young women in Christchurch to engage in civic life. Davidson said the grant would open doors for young women considering a path in leadership or public life. It will provide $500 towards study, leadership development, or opportunities that encourage participation in community and political life.
Following the unveiling, attendees are invited to gather at St Chad’s Anglican Church in Linwood for refreshments.
Organisers have advised visitors to park on Keighleys Road and enter through the Keighleys Road gate, with the headstone located at Block 9, Plot 507.
