Mabel Howard

Infobox Person
name= Mabel Bowden Howard


caption=
birth_date= 18 April 1894
birth_place= Bowden, Adelaide, Australia
death_date= 23 June 1972
death_place= Sunnyside Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand
occupation= Politician, trade unionist, and community worker
spouse= Never married

Mabel Mabel Bowden Howard (18 April 1894 – 23 June 1972) was a well known New Zealand trade unionist and politician. She was the first woman secretary of a male union (the Canterbury General Labourers’ Union).

She was a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 1943 until 1969. In 1947 she became New Zealand's first woman cabinet minister when she was made Minister of Health and Minister in charge of Child Welfare. She is remembered for waving two large pairs of bloomers in parliament in support of her successful campaign to have clothing sizes standardised.

She also worked as a volunteer for many organisations, among them St John's Ambulance, and the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RNZSPCA).

Early years

Mabel Howard was born in Bowden, near Adelaide, Australia on 18 April 1894. She moved to New Zealand with her father (Ted Howard) and sisters after her mother's death in 1903.

Howard joined the Christchurch Socialist Party when still at the Christchurch Technical Institute. She entered the Trades Hall in 1911 as an office assistant for the Canterbury General Labourers’ Union. In 1933, at the age of 39, she became the first woman to become secretary of a male union in New Zealand. In the same year she was elected to the Christchurch City Council. Later, Howard served on the Christchurch Drainage Board and North Canterbury Hospital Board (Gee, p.277).

Member of Parliament

In 1943, Mabel Howard was elected Member of Parliament for Christchurch East at a by-election, becoming the fifth woman MP. Her father Ted Howard, was Member of Parliament for Christchurch South from 1919 until his death in 1939. Mabel Howard had hoped to be chosen to stand for the Christchurch South seat after her father's death in 1939.

In 1946 Mabel Howard became the Member of Parliament for the new Sydenham seat, which she won with a majority of 75.2 percent. This was an outstanding result; a reflection of the high regard in which Mabel was held. Howard's concern was for "women, the aged, the sick and the unfortunate" (Gee, p.75; p.83, September 5, 1944). In Parliament, she was a "forthright" advocate for her people, stating "I stand here and say what I honestly believe" (Gee, p.39; p.103, September 1961).

Cabinet Minister

Howard became a Cabinet Minister only four years after entering Parliament. In 1947, she became Minister of Health and Child Welfare; the first woman Cabinet Minister in the British Commonwealth. When the Labour Party was returned to office in 1957, Mabel again achieved Cabinet rank as Minister of Social Security and Child Welfare and Minister in charge of Women and Children. Harry Atmore, the Independent MP for Nelson, recognised Mabel Howard's contribution to New Zealand: "She is a real advocate for the women of this country and with the experience she has had-much wider than ladies of her age usually have-she can speak with authority" (Gee, p.53).

Later life

Mabel Howard retired from politics at the 1969 election, after a lifetime of service to her community, and died on 23 June 1972. She is buried with her father, Ted Howard, at Bromley Cemetery in Christchurch.

References

*"Our Mabel" by David Gee (Millwood Press, Wellington, 1977)