Tag: new zealand history
Historian Gareth Watkins highlights November dates that are significant for New Zealand’s rainbow communities.
1 November 1944
Activist Ralph Knowles was born in Dunedin. From an early age, he was captivated by religion: “If I saw an article in the paper about the church overseas or some theologian, I was fascinated...
Historian Gareth Watkins highlights October dates as significant for our queer communities.
6 October 1874
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of poet and social worker Ursula Bethell. While she was born in England, Bethell’s parents had previously lived in New Zealand, and by the early 1880s,...
Historian Gareth Watkins highlights August dates that are significant for Aotearoa’s LGBTQ+ communities.
24 August 1976
The NZ Truth tabloid newspaper began a 6-week campaign to publicly out National MP Marilyn Waring. Its first front-page headline read, “MP’s Odd Love Affair.” The story reported that Waring’s lover was a “mother of three...
Historian Gareth Watkins looks back at July dates with notable connections to the progress of our rainbow communities.
9 July 1869
Emma Ada Scott was born in Tasmania, Australia. By 1914, she had moved to New Zealand and was living with her “dear friend” Alice Mills in Wellington. They moved...
Historian Gareth Watkins selects June dates that highlight the progress made by New Zealand’s Rainbow communities throughout history.
12 June 1916
Activist Jack Goodwin was born in Auckland. Goodwin was a senior member of the Dorian Society, New Zealand’s earliest known homosexual organisation, and later a key member of the NZ...
Historian Gareth Watkins explores past May dates that have had a profound effect on Aotearoa’s rainbow communities.
17 May 1915
In Auckland, Leslie Lander pleaded guilty to committing an unnatural act (buggery) and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 10 years imprisonment for indecent assault. The 24-year-old had earlier been the...
Historian Gareth Watkins checks out dates in April’s past that were significant milestones for the queer community.
28 April 1869
Painter Frances Hodgkins was born in Dunedin. At the time, Dunedin was the most populous city in New Zealand and was home to a vibrant artistic community. Hodgkins first exhibited there...
Historian Gareth Watkins remembers significant moments in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rainbow communities.
23 January 1964
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the brutal killing of Charles Allan Aberhart. Aberhart was not only persecuted by this country’s laws, with a conviction in 1963 for consensual homosexual activity (a...
