The first Women’s Refuge in New Zealand (and possibly the world) started just round the corner from my home, at 249 Kilmore Street. Rosemary Howard spoke of how this came about. There were no photos to illustrate her talk, partly because of the time (1970s) and partly because of the need to keep Refuge secret.
In the 1970s Rosemary, who described herself as independent, curious and naive, moved from the North Island to study Sociology at the University of Canterbury. Subjects such as the Role of Women, Deviant Behaviour, and Race Relations were greatly stimulating and made her think about the structure of our society. At the age of 19 she joined a group of 60 people, academic and professional, who were thinking about alternative ways of living and how they might develop community and share childcare.
When a large historic house in Merivale, Chippenham Lodge built in 1862 and probably designed by Benjamin Mountfort, came up for sale in 1971 with a price of $20,000 they decided to buy it, and the community began. In an early version of crowdfunding they were able to raise the capital needed. Next they bought the house next door in Mansfield Avenue which cost $24,000. To support and nurture their ideas about sustainability they also bought Cricklegrass Farm at Oxford for $14,000. In 1972 there were 24 adults and about 10 children living on the three properties.
The intention of the community was to share resources and effect social change. Shared roles and childcare gave members the freedom to be involved in various projects such as Greenpeace and Four Avenues Alternative School, and they became social activists. I remember going to a Green Party dinner at Chippenham in the later 1980s, where the entrance pathway was attractively outlined with tea light candles.
In the 1970s Women’s Liberation was a strong movement in Aotearoa. Organisations such as the National Organization of Women and Zonta were all thinking and asking questions about the limitations placed on women, e.g.abortion law reform and equal pay. Women could not enter a public bar, and banks refused to accept a woman as a signatory for a loan. When Rosemary was refused equal pay at Watties she chained herself to a pea harvester. Broadsheet magazine, first published in 1972 fuelled the fire of many women and led to the United Women’s Conventions and the Radical Feminist Network. Women from all walks of life were talking and asking questions about patriarchy.
A meeting place for local women was needed, and the Chippenham group rented half a house at 249 Kilmore Street as a place where women could meet and talk about their oppression. (The house has since been replaced by townhouses.) Books about feminism were being circulated. The power imbalance between the sexes was recognised. The focus of this Women’s Centre was to talk about how they could change society. Then injured women started to arrive in great distress, with children and hastily packed bags. The Centre, staffed by a roster of women, became a Safe House.
They thought there would be just a few isolated cases, rented the other half of the house, and were soon overflowing with distressed women. It was decided to retain the Kilmore Street house as a discussion centre and look for another Safe House. They approached the Christchurch City Council who were initially not interested in assisting battered women. Rosemary refused to leave the Council offices until they gave her a house, which they eventually did, in Hastings Street, Sydenham, and so the first Women’s Refuge in Aotearoa was established. Previously women who experienced domestic violence might go to their local church or to the Society for the Protection of Home and Family, but the topic of violence against women was not to be mentioned. The police were not supportive at the time, but were persuaded to run some staff education programmes.
From 1973 to 1977 the Refuge was run by a roster of volunteers and many women from the Chippenham Community were involved. Other women asked how they could help – some gave goods, others pledged a dollar a week. In 1973 the Labour Government introduced the Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB) which gave single mothers the opportunity for economic independence. The Refuge set up a network of contacts in Christchurch to assist women with accessing DPB and State Housing.
Fundraising was an important activity. For instance Refuge ran a champagne party at the Arts Centre supported by the Court Theatre. Actors offered a play called The Liberation of the Shrew and a substantial amount was raised. Rosemary spoke to service clubs asking for money, but the response was often negative, because the reality of domestic violence was not believed.
The beginning of Refuge has not been well-documented, because the work was all voluntary, underground, and secret. In 1977 some roles became paid with Government funding. Importantly the issue of domestic violence in this country was recognised. Instances of this increased after the Christchurch earthquakes, and again with Cyclone Gabrielle so vigilance and activism are still required.
On the Avon Ōtākaro riverbank near The Bricks there are two kowhai trees planted by Daphne Terpstra, Dame Ann Hercus, and Lady Hay to mark National Awareness Week for Women’s Refuges throughout New Zealand in 1988. Daphne was the woman we bought our cottage from, and she told us that it had sometimes been used for the overflow from the Refuge. I wonder if this site was chosen for the memorial because of its proximity to 249 Kilmore Street.
In the 1990s I worked at the Women’s Centre which was then in Cathedral Square. It had been set up as a link between Refuge and the wider community. The women there taught me about power and control, and about working collectively.
Do you have Refuge memories you’d care to share publicly?
The women looking after others
with care for children and their mothers
Ruth's Reflections 