Many of today’s young women who aspire to succeed in whatever field they have chosen, may not know much about Dame Cath, as she was affectionately known, or understand what a trailblazer she was.
She was the first female mayor of Auckland, serving in the role from 1983 until she became New Zealand’s 16th governor-general at the end of 1990.
It may seem ridiculous now, but the notion of a divorced mother of four (her husband had been Labour Party minister Bob Tizard) taking on such roles would have been shocking to some then.
By the time she took on the mayoralty, she had served four terms on the Auckland City Council and one on the Auckland Regional Authority.
In some ways she was an accidental politician, with her foray into local government hardly from the feminist playbook. She recalled blasting her husband when he suggested she should go on the Labour ticket for the council in 1971, saying, ‘‘Are you quite mad? I have a job, a house, four kids, two cats, a dog, a budgie, an axolotl and three guinea pigs to look after and you’d like me to take on something else? Being married to you is a full-time job on its own. Get real!’’
The next day she discovered, despite her diatribe, that her husband had put her on the ticket. She was elected, of course.
By the time she accepted the governor-general appointment, Dame Cath would have been well known across the country, in no small part due to her appearances on the popular Dunedin-made television show Beauty and the Beast, hosted by Selwyn Toogood, where women panellists discussed issues raised by viewers.
Dame Cath was known for her forthrightness. As former prime minister Helen Clark put it ‘‘no-one would walk away from a conversation wondering what Cath thought about the issues discussed’’.
While her political life was not without controversy, Dame Cath described her political skills as being based on being ‘‘sensible and cheerful and not bearing grudges’’.
Ms Clark said Dame Cath’s voice was always progressive across the spectrum of human rights and for sexual and reproductive health and rights.
‘‘Many young women of my generation saw her success in public life and knew that that door could open for us too.’’
As governor-general, Dame Cath had a down-to-earth approach, keen to remove stuffiness where she could. She tried to discourage curtseying, dispensed with the services of a dresser because ‘‘I had managed to dress myself quite successfully for the past 50 or more years’’, stopped staff hiding the fact they were cleaning because ‘‘ I did not actually believe that the house was cleaned by midnight pixies’’, and insisted on being allowed to drive herself occasionally.
Her efforts did not go unnoticed by Queen Elizabeth. On one occasion when Dame Cath did a parachute jump to launch Braille Week, she thought her staff were playing a joke on her when they produced a telegram from the Queen simply saying ‘‘Well jumped. Elizabeth R’’.
Her directness, zest for life, and irrepressible sense of humour, meant people found it easy to relate to her and she did much to make the office of Governor-General more accessible.
When Covid-19 restrictions allow, we hope there will be an opportunity for the many who remember Dame Cath with respect and affection to gather in her honour.
