Heather Allan’s life of service to the city is remembered
Former Palmerston North city councillor Heather Allan has been remembered for her sense of social justice and fairness, and her strong community leadership delivered with style and grace.
A JP who was awarded a civic honour, a QSM and the National Police Shield, one of her most recent achievements up until October 2021 was chairing the Mash Trust, an organisation she helped to set up, and she remained with as patron for the rest of her life.
A Palmerston North resident for 82 years, she was born in the city on March 27, 1941, and she and her sister Sally were raised by her mother Olive Walker, who was a war widow, and an extended Scottish family.
She went to Terrace End School and was a foundation student at the thennew Freyberg High School.
After school she trained as a nurse at Palmerston North Hospital, then moved into social work, and a role as consultant to what was then the Social Welfare Department.
It was during the 1980s and 1990s that her involvement in voluntary groups and local politics really gained momentum.
She served one term on the former Palmerston North Hospital Board from 1986, and another two years on the short-lived Manawatu-Whanganui Area Health Board, and was an appointed member to the policy board of the New Zealand Disabilities Resource Centre, the forerunner of Enable. She continued her interest in health as a director of the Central Regional Health Authority and the Transitional Health Authority in the lead up to the formation of district health boards.
In 1989 she worked with fellow board member Nan Kinross and mental health services director Joan Chettleburgh to find a home in Savage Cres for five men about to be made homeless by the closure of the Railways Hostel.
That was the start of Mash, with Allan a foundation signatory. The trust’s mission was to work together to achieve great lives.
The former residential centres at Kimberley and Lake Alice were closing, and the trust worked to find housing in the community for hundreds of people with physical, intellectual, mental health and addiction challenges.
Her successor as chairman, John Fowke, said after 34 years, Mash had grown into a team of 550 meeting the needs of close to 2000 people at 96 locations in the lower North Island, and delivering medication assistance to another 80 people in their own homes.
Mash was instrumental in the development of related organisations including the Whaiora Trust, of which she was a trustee, and the Luck venue.
She was elected to the Palmerston North City Council in 1992, and served for a total of nine years.
The community development committee was her focus, and she was appointed to the Regent Theatre Trust Board, the Globe Theatre Trust Board, and the Palmerston North Safer Community Council.
She was appointed to the Caccia Birch Trust, and was later its chairperson, one of a determined group of city leaders invested in the preservation and enhancement of what had been a run-down historic building when the council acquired it 1984.
She served as a member and leader of various community groups at local and national levels, including IHC, National Council of Women, and as the foundation chairperson for Across - Anglican, Catholic and Rangitāne Social Services.
In 2000, she was the inaugural chairperson of the Manawatū Community Law Centre, which responded to some 2900 requests for assistance in the 2022/23 year.
She stayed on as the centre’s patron. Fowke said her counsel and advice would be sorely missed.
She was a valuable confidant, adviser and mentor, he said. “Heather remained generous with her time and always willing to share the lessons learned from her great experience in the service of our communities.”
The years leading up to her standing down as Mash chairperson had been challenging as she lost her sight to macular degeneration. She used a range of technologies to listen to reports, a sharp memory to retain their contents, and her other senses.
Heather Allan died on March 24 after an illness. She was farewelled at a private gathering of invited guests at Caccia Birch House at Easter. She is survived by husband Bob, sons and grandchildren.