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Elsie Locke

エルシー・ロック

Erushī Rokku

Aliases: Elsie Violet Farrelly / Elsie Freeman

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1912-08-17 （Hamilton, New Zealand）
Died
2001-04-08 （Christchurch, New Zealand） age 88
Nationality
New Zealander
Languages
English
Religion
Atheism
Residence History
Waiuku, New Zealand → Auckland, New Zealand → Wellington, New Zealand → Christchurch, New Zealand

Career

Occupations
Writer, Historian, Activist
Active Years
1930-2001
Affiliations
Communist Party of New Zealand (1933-1956), Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (1957-1970)
Influenced By
Robin Hyde
Influenced
Keith Locke, Maire Leadbeater

Education

Waiuku District High School
General
Period: 1925-1929
Year of Graduation: 1929
Country: New Zealand
Only family member to complete high school
University of Auckland
Arts
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1930-1933
Year of Graduation: 1933
Country: New Zealand
University of Canterbury
Degree: D.Litt.
Year of Graduation: 1987
Country: New Zealand
Honorary degree

Awards

Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award
1959
Work: Looking for Answers
Category: 文学エッセイ部門
Organization: Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Gaelyn Gordon Award
1999
Work: The Runaway Settlers
Category: 愛される本賞
Organization: Storylines Children's Literature Foundation
Result: 受賞
Margaret Mahy Award
1995
Organization: Storylines Children's Literature Foundation
Result: 受賞
Betty Gilderdale Award
1992
Category: 児童文学への貢献
Organization: Storylines Children's Literature Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Runaway Settlers

1965 Historical Fiction

Story of Mrs Small and her children fleeing violent Mr Small from Sydney, settling in Governors Bay, New Zealand.

FamilySettlementNew Zealand History

The End of the Harbour

1968 Historical Fiction

Set in Waiuku on the border between Maori King Movement and settlers, friendship between Pakeha boy David and Maori boy Honatana.

Maori-Pakeha RelationsLand IssuesPeace

A Canoe in the Mist

1984 Historical Fiction

Two girls' experiences during the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption.

Natural DisasterMaori CultureFriendship

Bibliography

  • Gordon Watson, New Zealander, 1912–45: His Life and Writings
  • The Shepherd and the Scullery Maid, 1850–1950: Canterbury Without Laurels
  • The Time of the Child: A Sequence of Poems
  • Ghosts on the Coast: A Family Fantasy with the Rouseabouts
  • The Runaway Settlers
  • A Canoe in the Mist

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Children's LiteratureHistorical FictionBiculturalism
Recurring Motifs
PeaceFeminismMaori-Pakeha RelationsSocial Justice

Health

  • Spinal Tuberculosis
    1946-1948
    Hospitalised flat on back, children moved around; time for reading and political reflection.

Legacy

Remarkable contribution to New Zealand society through children's literature, feminism, and peace activism. Elsie Locke Award established.

Archives

  • National Library of New Zealand

In Popular Culture

  • Elsie Locke Park in Christchurch (now part of Margaret Mahy Playground)
  • LIANZA Elsie Locke Award

Quotes

  • When the last of the ten thousand had passed me, I was left on the pavement to answer the question these men had silently flung at me: whose side are you on?
    Source: Student at the Gates (1981) (1981)
  • Virginia Woolf said if you wanted to write... you needed a room of your own and five hundred pounds a year. I never had the five hundred pounds but I made sure I always had a room.
    Source: A Bird in the Hand, New Zealand Listener (1996) (1996)

Trivia

  • Only person to have a park named in their honour by Christchurch City Council during lifetime.
  • Husband Jack remained communist until death.
  • US authorities required armed guard during Hawaii stopover in 1980s.