Elizabeth Orr Explained

Elizabeth Welch Orr (29 October 1929 – 22 April 2021, née Entrican) was a New Zealand lecturer and a previous Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington. Orr was also a trade union leader and advocate for pay equity.[1]

Life

Orr was the daughter of civil engineer and forestry administrator Pat Entrican. She attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate between 1936 and 1942, and Nga Tawa Diocesan between 1944 and 1946.[2] Orr completed her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in English and French at Victoria University of Wellington in 1951. After graduating her postgraduate Master's in English with First Class Honours in 1954,[3] she continued working at the University within the English department as both a tutor and lecturer.[4]

University administrative career

Between 1967 - 1980 Orr was the first woman to serve as Executive Secretary of the Association of University Teachers.[5] Orr became a member of the Victoria University of Wellington Council in 1986, and continued on to become the Pro-Chancellor in 1990. Between 1991 and 1995 she served as the University’s Chancellor - the first female to do so.

Equity work

Orr contributed to the formation of the National Advisory Council for the Employment of Women, where she served as chair between 1971 and 1979, advocating for the Equal Pay Act in 1972.[6] Orr was a member of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal, and between 1975 and 1978 she served on the Equal Pay Committee. Additionally, Orr contributed to the legal arguments for the 2014 pay equality case Terranova Homes & Care Limited v Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Incorporated.[7]

Later life

Orr married Secretary for Justice and Waitangi Tribunal member Gordon Orr.[8] in 1997 Elizabeth Orr became a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education and the community.[9] In the same year she was also made an honorary Doctor of Literature by the Victoria University of Wellington Council. Orr held conservationist views around the protection of native fauna in New Zealand [10] and in 2017 she published a history of the New Zealand Forest Service, including detailing her father's work as Director of Forestry between 1939 and 1961.

Orr died in Wellington on 22 April 2021 aged 91.[11]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. News: Equal Opportunities Tribunal. New Zealand Gazette.
  2. Book: Orr, Elizabeth. Pay Packets & Stone Walls: A Memoir of Women's Causes and Love of the Land. Steel Roberts. 2020.
  3. Web site: NZ University Graduates 1870-1961. live. Shadows of Time. https://web.archive.org/web/20100304070850/http://shadowsoftime.co.nz:80/university18.html . 2010-03-04 .
  4. Web site: 28 April 2021. In Memoriam: Elizabeth Welch Orr, CNZM. live. Victoria University of Wellington. https://web.archive.org/web/20210504094739/https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2021/04/in-memoriam-elizabeth-welch-orr,-cnzm . 2021-05-04 .
  5. Book: Tarling, Nicholas. Professionals and Unionists: A history of the Association of University Staff 1923-1998. Association of University Staff. 2000. Wellington.
  6. Web site: Book Review: Pay Packets and Stone Walls. live. PSA. https://web.archive.org/web/20200930025240/https://www.psa.org.nz/quick-menu/working-life/psa-working-life-journal/book-review-pay-packets-and-stone-walls/ . 2020-09-30 .
  7. Web site: Elizabeth Orr. live. Coalition for Equal Value, Equal Pay. https://web.archive.org/web/20160121223110/http://cevepnz.org.nz/What's%20happening/Elizabeth%20Orr.htm . 2016-01-21 .
  8. News: Haxton. David. 9 June 2020. Women's causes important part of Elizabeth Orr's memoir. Kapiti News.
  9. Web site: New Year Honours List 1997. live. Department of Prime Minister and the Cabinet. https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081442/https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-1997 . 2018-01-16 .
  10. Web site: Keeping New Zealand green : our forests - and their future. live. Te Waharoa. https://web.archive.org/web/20210504103403/https://tewaharoa.victoria.ac.nz/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma99178383501802386&context=L&vid=64VUW_INST:VUWNUI&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=all&query=any,contains,Elizabeth%20Welch%20orr&offset=0 . 2021-05-04 .
  11. Web site: Orr, Elizabeth Welch: CNZM . The Dominion Post . 2021-05-06.
  12. Web site: Pay Packets & Stone Walls. live. Steele Roberts. https://web.archive.org/web/20201019150407/https://steeleroberts.co.nz/product/pay-packets-stone-walls/ . 2020-10-19 .
  13. Book: Welch Orr, Elizabeth. Women at work : a guide to employment and training opportunities for women returning to work. Hicks Smith. 1968.
  14. Book: Welch Orr, Elizabeth. Keeping New Zealand green : our forests - and their future. Steele Roberts Aotearoa. 2017.

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