Monday, February 2, 2009

My Grandmother

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The travel companions in my postcard above are, on the right my paternal grandmother born Mabel Fielding, in Canterbury New Zealand, and on the left, her sister Hilda.

As I made this card I tried to imagine how in the 1920s they may have wondered about the possible trajectory of their lives.

My grandmother married at 16 years of age and had her first son within a year. He became an air force navigator and was to die as a very young man in his first mission in the Pacific.

My grandmother was tiny in stature - barely five foot tall but she had a towering presence. She changed her Chrisitian name by deed poll from Mabel to the more modern Ann.


Ann Newlands became a Labour party stalwart and the mayor of the town of Timau. In 1948 she accompanied Peter Fraser, the Labour Prime Minister, to Paris for three months for the final round of negotiations on the Geneva Draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations General Assembly.
At the time she was President of the Women's Section of the NZ Labour Party and a member of the Labour Party Executive Commission.






At UNGA with the delegate from the Netherlands explaining the UNHR to young visitors.


Ann's task was to present New Zealand's views and beliefs to the UNGA. New Zealand's position was not typical of other Western nations. A major issue of dissension in the Geneva Draft was the significance of civil and political rights (strongly promoted by the West) and economic, cultural and social rights (advocated by the Eastern Bloc countries)
New Zealand's stance was that the government had a specific responsibility to promote economic cultural and social rights because civil and political rights were incomplete without them.

The New Zealand delegation stated it this way:


"Experience in New Zealand has taught us that the assertion of the right of personal freedom is incomplete unless it is related to the social and economic rights of the common man. There can be no difference of opinion as to the tyranny of privation and want. There is no dictator more terrible than hunger."


My grandmother had an enormous zest for life , a great love of the country side, her family and the needs of the community. She was also a consummate story teller. She loved the thrill of a game of cards or a flutter on the horses and she was very partial to MacIntoshes toffees.
When I was a teenager she taught me how to knee a boy in the groin if he was to become 'fresh'!


My grandmother was a powerful feminist role model in my life way before I had ever heard of that term. In my childhood autograph book she wrote these words which succinctly encapsulate the essence of her character and the way she lived her life.


27 comments:

  1. You must be very proud of your grandmother. I would be. She was way ahead of her time.

    The very idea that economic rights exist seems "left wing" these days. Odd, really.

    For me, it's self-evident that hunger and denial of medical care are forms of oppression. For many of my fellow citizens here in the US, if someone can't afford food, housing or health care, it's evidence of their personal shortcomings, probably because they're lazy.

    We need more voices of compassion and justice in our world, as your grandmother was. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Fantastic story - I love it. I wish I had a grandmother like that. What wisdom,what hard work she did for her community - what an inspiration!!

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  3. Alden - I told you to ask me about her - thought you'd like that story...

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  4. Thank you for this update in history.

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  5. Fascinating. And I do like your tidy arty little scrapbook pages. They make delightful illustrations to your stories.

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  6. Katherine: thankyou, I do have fun with my glue...

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  7. Wow - what a role model for you. There's nothing like a strong woman in your lineage to give you a sense that the ability to wield personal power is a birthright. And, by the way, your power of observation is keen. The "white" post on my blog was an altered photo of my mother in the late 1930s when she was about ten.

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  8. Welcome to this side of the world Meri and thanks for taking the time to comment.
    You are so right - she did plant those seeds of self reliance and self determination.

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  9. What an inspiration, your grandmother was. I never knew any of my grandparents and often wonder what I missed.

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  10. VioletSky ~ doing this post has made me think about the traits I may have inherited from her and the attitudes I learned from her too.

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  11. Delwyn, I love your grandmother's advice to you in your autograph book. She was a special & dynamic woman... great role model.

    Also, I find it interesting that items such as the autograph book show up in NZ & US childhood/teenage culture!

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  12. Not surprising that you descend from such creative, dynamic stock Delwyn! I also see the physical resemblance - she was a beautiful woman.

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  13. Delwyn- I wonder what your grandmother's childhood was like for her to be so confident & proactive way back then. She definitely wasn't part of the norm for that day and age.

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  14. Hi Bonnie
    I think I received the love of books and writing from her through my Dad...
    and she was a great role model...

    happy days

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  15. Hi maggie

    She lived in a small NZ town, I think her father was a farmer who died tragically in a farm accident. Perhaps that taught her to be stoic and strong.

    happy days

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  16. I join you in honoring this great woman.




    Aloha from Hawaii


    Comfort Spiral

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  17. Hi Cloudia

    strong women role models are very important to growing girls...she was a fiercely independent woman, with a very strong will...

    Happy days

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  18. I really enjoyed this post. Your grandmother certainly was a forward-thinking and independent minded woman. No wonder you're filled with admiration.

    The motto she left in your autograph book is as much of a guide as any of us should need in life. If you don't mind, I'll be quoting this one to my own grandchildren.

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  19. Hello Martin from a sepiaish saturday

    My grandmother would be delighted that her message was passed on...

    happy days

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  20. what a fantastic blog...your grandmother seems a fascinating person, and what an exceptional position she went so far to represent! i agree with mr. kinder, that here in the u.s., economics are so poorly understood that a person will be reviled for his own suffering. it's unbelievable that as a nation, we seem to have taken nothing at all from the u.n.

    may we each row out to meet a fabulous and magical ship....

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  21. Welcome Zoeto me neck of the woods. It is nice to have you visit and share with.

    New Zealand was a country with strong social policies introduced very early in the century. I also think that they were the first country to give women the vote.

    happy days

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  22. Sapphire wrote about your beautiful blog on her blog and asked us to drop in on her friends. Glad I did. I loooove your grandmother. What an amazing woman. Because of women like your grandmother, it's a different era today. Thank you for sharing!

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  23. Hello Kitty

    it is nice to meet you,and any friend of sapphire's I know will be a kind and interesting friend too..

    You are right. While women had the vote and suffrage in NZ very early there were still economic rights to advocate for, and my Grandmother was a staunch believer in equal rights and opportunities.

    Thanks for calling by. I will come and visit you after breakfast...

    happy days

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  24. "Row out, and meet it." Your grandma was a wise woman. I remember meeting her here in early 2009, more than a year ago already. I'm glad to revisit her.

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  25. Hello dan for the second time to this post, a year between, and a different pic too like mine...

    Yes she was wise and warm too...


    Happy days

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  26. I agree with Dan--"row out & meet it" is a good adage. There's also an old proverb that says, "If you're waiting for your ship to come in, be sure you have sent it out." This is a great blog--any blog with a koala count & quotes from Basho is good by me!

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  27. Hi John

    I like your variation of the proverb.

    thank you for coming by and joining in the commentary John. I look forward to your further acquaintance.

    Happy days

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