Sonja Davies, nee Vile was born 11 November 1923 in Wallaceville, Upper Hutt City, Wellington Region, New Zealand to Gerald Dempsey () and Gwladys Ilma Vile (1895-) and died 12 June 2005 Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand of unspecified causes. She married Lindsay Nathan () 14 November 1941 in Wellington Region, New Zealand.
Contents
Sonja Margaret Loveday Davies (née Vile, 11 November 1923 – 12 June 2005) was a New Zealand trade unionist, peace campaigner, and Member of Parliament. On 6 February 1987 Davies was the third appointee to the Order of New Zealand.[1]
Siblings
| Sonja Davies | |
| Sonja Margaret Loveday Vile (1923-2005) Marching On is the second volume of Sonja Davies' autobiography | |
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Pencarrow | |
| In office 1987 – 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Fraser Colman |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Trevor Mallard |
| Born | 11 November 1923 Wallaceville, New Zealand |
| Died | 12 June 2005 (age 81) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Birth name | Sonja Margaret Loveday Vile |
| Political party | Labour |
Early life
Sonja Vile was born in the Upper Hutt suburb of Wallaceville in 1923.[2] Her mother was Gwladys Ilma Vile, a nurse,[2] and a granddaughter of Job Vile.[3] Sonja Vile learned the identity of her father, Gerald Dempsey, an army major from Cork, only when she was 20, but never made any contact. She had four different foster homes before her grandparents took her in, and they lived in Oamaru and Woodville. Aged seven, she went back to her mother in Wellington to live with her younger sister and her new step-father. The family moved to Dunedin, then Auckland, and in 1939 back to Wellington; by then, she also had a younger brother. The speeches by pacifists Ormond Burton and Arch Barrington appealed to her social conscience but caused tension with her parents, and she consequently left home aged 16 supporting herself by work in bookshops.[2]
Involvement in unions
Davies helped to found the Working Women's Council, and in 1974 she became the first female executive of the Federation of Labour.
Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1987–1990 | 42nd | Pencarrow | style="font-size:smaller; white-space:nowrap; background:Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/shading" | [[New Zealand Labour Party|Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/shortname]] | |
| 1990–1993 | 43rd | Pencarrow | style="font-size:smaller; white-space:nowrap; background:Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/shading" | [[New Zealand Labour Party|Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/shortname]] | |
Davies became the Labour MP for Pencarrow in 1987 and served two terms, retiring in 1993; Trevor Mallard replaced her. Davies died in Wellington in 2005.[4] One statement at her funeral was probably wrong: she was barely married by age 17, and the divorce was several years later.
Media
Her autobiography, Bread and Roses: Her Story, (ISBN 1-86953-162-0), was turned into a film in 1994. Directed by Gaylene Preston), the film was also called Bread and Roses. A second volume of autobiography, Marching On (ISBN 1-86941-296-6) was published in 1997.
References
- ^ "The Order of New Zealand" (12 February 1987) 20 New Zealand Gazette 705 at 709.
- ^ a b c Else, Anne. "Sonja Davies". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6D1. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ "Vile: John D. Vile and Ann Foster". http://jo.warby.markingtime.bigpondhosting.com/p74.htm. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Taylor, Kevin (20 June 2005). "Sonja Davies – 'A very great New Zealander'". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10331627. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
External links
| Assembly seats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fraser Colman |
Member of Parliament for Pencarrow 1987–1993 |
Succeeded by Trevor Mallard |
|
Template:Order of New Zealand
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Davies, Sonja |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Politician, trade unionist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 11 November 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wallaceville, New Zealand |
| DATE OF DEATH | 12 June 2005 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Wellington, New Zealand |
Warning: Default sort key "Davies, Sonja" overrides earlier default sort key "Vile, Sonja Margaret_Loveday".
Children
| Offspring of Sonja Davies, nee Vile and Don (‘Red’) Brinsen (-c1944) ¢ | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Penelope (Penny) (1944-1994) | |||
| Offspring of Sonja Davies, nee Vile and Charles Edward Mercer (Charlie) Davies (-1971) ¢ | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Mark Davies (1957-1978) | |||
Residences
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
| ₪ Wedding |
|
| ₪2 Wedding 2 |
|
| ¢2 Children 2 |
|
| ¢3 Children 3 |
|
| ¶ Death |
|
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Sonja Davies. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
