Dorothy Jelicich
New Zealand politician
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Dorothy Catherine Jelicich QSO (née MacDonald, 19 January 1928 – 10 April 2015) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served one term in the House of Representatives representing the Hamilton West electorate, and was afterwards a city councillor in Hamilton and then Manukau.
19 January 1928
Dorothy Jelicich | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Hamilton West | |
| In office 25 November 1972 – 30 October 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Leslie Munro |
| Succeeded by | Mike Minogue |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dorothy Catherine MacDonald 19 January 1928 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 10 April 2015 (aged 87) Ōtāhuhu, New Zealand |
| Party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Paul Stephen Jelicich
(m. 1949; died 2014) |
Early life and family
Jelicich was born in Sydney on 19 January 1928.[1] Her father was a semi-skilled labourer.[2] She was educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School and the Elam School of Fine Arts.[citation needed] In 1949 she married Paul Jelicich, a bricklayer,[1] and, with family support, she opened a restaurant in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe.[2] Purchasing a small dairy farm at Bombay in 1964, the couple took up farming, but in 1970 she became a shoe store manager and then a trade union organiser.[2]
Political career
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–1975 | 37th | Hamilton West | Labour | ||
Jelicich, through her union job, became a member of the Labour Party and became a member of the executive of the Manurewa electorate and president of the Papatoetoe electorate committee. She stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for Hauraki in 1969.[3] In 1972 she won the seat of Hamilton West for Labour by defeating Hamilton City Councillor Derek Heather after the incumbent, Leslie Munro of the National Party, retired.[4] She became the first woman in New Zealand parliamentary history to open the Address-in-Reply debate.[5] In 1975 she lost her seat to Mike Minogue.[4]
Following her defeat she stood for the vice-presidency of the Labour Party at the 1976 party conference. She lost to Gerald O'Brien, placing second in the delegate ballot with a credible 344 votes to O'Brien's 585.[6] In early 1977 she stood as a candidate for the Labour Party nomination in the Māngere by-election. She had the backing of both the outgoing MP Colin Moyle, Labour leader Bill Rowling, but regardless she lost out to future Prime Minister David Lange.[7] She contested the Hamilton West electorate once more in the 1978 election.[8]
She briefly served on the Hamilton City Council after winning a by-election in 1979.[9] She unsuccessfully stood for the Labour nomination at the 1980 Onehunga by-election. Just as in Mangere she gathered much support among local members but again missed out, narrowly losing to Fred Gerbic.[10][11] In 1982 (via another by-election) she became a Manukau City Councillor, representing Mangere Ward until she retired in 1995.[12]
Honours and awards
In the 1986 New Year Honours, Jelicich was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.[13] In 1990, she received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[14] and in 1993, she was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[15]
Death
Jelicich died on 10 April 2015 at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland at the age of 87, having been predeceased by her husband in October the previous year.[16] She was survived by their three children.[17]
