Denied her place in history
Until the intervention of a defence lawyer, Elaine Kingsford was set to strike a blow for women in NZ, writes Tina White.
On October 26, 1942, New Zealand women aged between 25 and 60 became eligible by law to sit on juries.
A year later, on a sunny day in 1943: ‘‘She strides confidently into the camera frame, dressed in 1940s high fashion: jaunty hat, broadshouldered, wide-lapelled coat and high heels, for her moment of fame.’’
This is Elaine Kingsford, who spoke briefly on the National Film
Unit’s Weekly Review, about being the first female juror in New Zealand.
On that day, her name had come up to serve on a false-pretences case in Auckland, but she’d been challenged by the defence counsel, and never got the chance to deliberate with the rest of the allmale jury.
Still, the 26-year-old smiles calmly as she speaks on the historic movie clip.
‘‘It was disconcerting to be challenged by those stern-looking gentlemen in the grey wigs, but they were very nice about it, and referred to us as ‘lady and gentlemen of the jury’.’’
She continues, with the hint of a cheeky smile: ‘‘With the war continuing to occupy our menfolk, one day there might be 12 good women and true – and maybe the learned judge referred to as Her Honour.’’
Who was this self-possessed young woman, who seemed to slip out of the headlines almost as soon as she made them?
Elaine Rebecca Kingsford was born on March 10, 1917, to Charles Kingsford and his wife Loveday, nee Jordan. Her older brothers were Charles Jr, Barrington and John.
Elaine was involved in many activities, growing up. She’s mentioned fleetingly several times in Auckland newspapers, over the years.
As a very young teenager, she is listed, among others, in the New
Zealand Herald of April 1, 1930, in the annual picnic of the New Zealand Powerboat Association at Islington Bay, where running events and dinghy races were held, ‘‘with glorious weather and the water ideal’’.
Her name came up again in the
on October 8, 1934, at the Fleur de Lys Girls’ Club dance at St Peter’s Anglican Church hall at Takapuna. During the annual Auckland Society of Arts Ball in April 1937, Elaine and her brother John took part in the Robin Hood sequence of a pageant displaying scenes from English history.
And on May 25, 1939, the
listed her as a debutante at the Auckland Empire Ball, a Victoria League event attended by the governor-general, Viscount Galway, and the viscountess.
By then, Elaine was working for the Takapuna Borough Council.
Around this time, Mary Dreaver, MP for Waitemata and third woman to enter Parliament, introduced the Women Jurors’ Bill. It became law in 1942.
The act enabled women ‘‘of good character and repute’’ to volunteer for jury service.
However, it also made it easy for a woman to claim exemption.
An undated newspaper clipping, published after Elaine’s name came up, states: ‘‘There is some question of whether [Miss Kingsford] will have the opportunity this session, on account of difficulty through shortage of staff at the Takapuna Borough Council where she works.’’
In the event, no obstacles occurred, and Kingsford went on to make her mark, albeit briefly.
Michele Powles’ 1999 paper: A Legal History of the New Zealand Jury Service, in the section ‘‘Evolution and Equality’’, adds:
‘‘The Women Jurors’ Act of 1942 purported to grant any woman between the ages of 25 and 60 the same rights and duties of jury service ‘as if she were a man’.’’
However, there was a proviso which held that a woman was placed on the jury list only if she notified the sheriff in writing that she desired to serve.
‘‘It appears that, between 1943 and 1960, only three women passed the barriers of having to volunteer and proceed unchallenged into the jury.
‘‘Women were urged to overcome . . . inhibitions and volunteer in large numbers for jury service . . . despite this, there were so few women appearing on juries that the press and court officials declared the first woman juror to be three different women over a period of 17 years.’’
Still, the 1942 ruling opened the door to further progress.
Elaine Kingsford’s ‘‘Her Honour’’ comment came true, finally, when in 1976 Dame Augusta Wallace was the first New Zealand woman to be appointed as a judge to the District Court.
On June 2, 1945, Kingsford married her English-born soldier fiance, Claude Charles Robinson, in the family parish church, St Peter’s, Takapuna. They would have a daughter, Janet.
Elaine Kingsford Robinson died on September 17, 1986.