Sheila Weight
British servicewoman and New Zealand local-body politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheila Mary Weight MNZM JP (née Weeks; 10 January 1922 – 15 July 2011) was a New Zealand local-body politician. She was the first woman to service as president of the Auckland Institute and Museum Trust Board.
10 January 1922
Sheila Weight | |
|---|---|
Weight serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force circa 1940–1941 | |
| Born | Sheila Mary Weeks 10 January 1922 |
| Died | 15 July 2011 (aged 89) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Women's Auxiliary Air Force |
| Spouse | Peter Everard Weight |
| Children | 6 |
Biography
Weight was born Sheila Mary Weeks in London, England, on 10 January 1922,[1][2] and served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during World War II.[3] She emigrated to New Zealand in 1946,[4] and subsequently married Peter Everard Weight.[5] The couple went on to have six children.[5][6]
Later in life, Sheila Weight served as a councillor on the One Tree Hill Borough Council and represented the borough on the Trust Board of the Auckland Institute and Museum. From 1982, she also served as vice-president of the institute,[7] becoming the president in 1986. She was the first woman to be elected to either position.[8] She was appointed to be a justice of the peace in 1985.[9]
In the 1999 New Year Honours, Weight was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community.[10][11] In the same year, Weight received an Auckland Museum Medal, becoming a Companion of Auckland War Memorial Museum.[12]
Weight died on 15 July 2011.[6] Her husband, Peter, died in 2013.[5]
