Alison Gray
New Zealand writer and social researcher (1943–2021)
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Alison Mary Gray QSM (11 March 1943 – 1 September 2021) was a New Zealand writer and social researcher. She wrote 11 books, ranging from feminist oral histories to novels and children's books. Gray established a social policy research consultancy that contributed to public sector policy reports in New Zealand and other Pacific nations.
11 March 1943
Alison Gray | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alison Mary Gray 11 March 1943 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Died | 1 September 2021 (aged 78) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Spouse |
Ross Webb
(m. 1963, divorced) |
| Partner | Garth Baker (from 1984) |
| Children | 3 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Chilton Saint James School Wellington Girls' College |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington University of Auckland |
| Thesis | |
Early life and education
Gray was born in 1943 in Lower Hutt, and was the third of six children.[1] She grew up in Lower Hutt and Thorndon, attending Hutt Central School, Chilton St James and Wellington Girls’ College.[1] She studied part time at Victoria University of Wellington while working at the Tourist and Publicity Department.[1] She earned a Master of Arts with Honours in English at the University of Auckland in 1968, and then completed a master's degree in sociology at Victoria in 1978.[1][2]
Career
Gray was a lecturer, writer and social researcher. In 1987 she spent a year in the Stout Research Centre at Victoria University as the Claude McCarthy Fellow.[1] She wrote 11 books, ranging from feminist oral histories to novels and children's books. Gray established a social policy research consultancy that contributed to public sector policy reports in New Zealand and other Pacific nations.[1][3][2]
In 1990, Gray received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1] In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for public services.[4] In 1996 Gray was awarded a PEN Fellowship for fiction.[2]
Personal life
Gray married Ross Webb, an architect, in 1963. They had three children together before separating.[1] Gray was with later partner Garth Baker for 37 years.[1] Gray died in Wellington from motor neuron disease on 1 September 2021.[1]
Selected works
- Barrington, Rosemary; Gray, Alison (1981). The Smith Women: 100 New Zealand Women Talk About Their Lives. Reed. ISBN 978-0-589-01388-2.
- Gray, Alison (1985). Expressions of Sexuality. Martin Stewart, photographer. Reed Methuen. ISBN 978-0-474-00004-1.
- Gray, Alison (1988). Teenangels: Being a New Zealand Teenager. Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press. ISBN 978-0-86861-619-3.
- Gray, Alison (28 April 2021). Mothers & Daughters. Bridget Williams Books (published 1993). ISBN 978-0-908912-37-7.
- Gray, Alison (1997). Against the Odds: New Zealand Paralympians. Hodder Moa Beckett. ISBN 978-1-86958-566-2.