Brenda Green

1980-1983

Richmond Borough Councillor

Brenda Green

Brenda was born and bred as the saying goes, in England. After leaving school she trained as a florist and worked for an upmarket flower shop in London. She regularly did flowers for Lord Mountbatten and other famous Londoners. Although Brenda had a bright mind family circumstances prevented her from going to university. Her family were politically involved and Brenda inherited their interest in politics. She emigrated to New Zealand where she met her husband Clem. They married and eventually moved with their children to Richmond.

With Richmond growing at a very fast pace Brenda decided she wanted to have a say in how the town was developing. She stood and was elected to the Richmond Borough Council in 1980. She was the Borough's third woman councillor. Besides her interest in town planning matters she took a great interest in the library and children's playgrounds. Underneath Brenda's quiet persona lay a steely determination that came to the fore when there were issues she felt strongly about.

She did not stand for re-election in 1983. Brenda's real political love was at a party level and she became involved with the New Zealand Labour Party. She was very much against smoking especially at meetings and managed to convince the local Labour Party Electorate Committee that their meetings should be smoke-free.

From 1970 to 1977 Brenda was the custodian of Broadgreen Historical House in Stoke.

Brenda died in Wellington in August 2016.

This was published in: Women Decision-Makers Nelson and Tasman 1944 -2018, p. 16. Compiled by Dr Shelley Richardson, Elaine Henry, Gail Collingwood, Hilary Mitchell.

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