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Elsie Locke

Elsie Violet Locke (1912-2001) was a prominent New Zealand writer, historian, and activist known for her children's literature, feminist, and peace work, and advocacy for social justice and biculturalism.

1. Overview

Elsie Violet Locke (née Farrelly; 17 August 1912 - 8 April 2001) was a prominent New Zealand writer, historian, and a leading activist in both the feminist and peace movements. Recognized for her significant contributions to New Zealand society, particularly through her children's literature, Locke dedicated her life to addressing social inequalities and advocating for human rights, leaving an enduring legacy as a defender of democracy and social progress. Her work often explored themes of biculturalism and Māori perspectives, well ahead of her time.

2. Biography

Elsie Locke's life was marked by her deep commitment to social justice, shaped by her early experiences and evolving political beliefs. Her personal journey intertwined with her public activism, influencing her family and the wider New Zealand community.

2.1. Early Life and Education

Elsie Violet Farrelly was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, on 17 August 1912, the youngest of six children to William John Allerton Farrelly (1878-1945) and Ellen Electa Farrelly (née Bryan; 1874-1936). Both her parents were New Zealand-born and held progressive views, despite only receiving a primary education. Her father strongly encouraged education for his children, having been unable to continue his own schooling past Standard Six. Her mother, Ellen, who was a teenager during the New Zealand women's suffrage movement, instilled in her daughters the values of gender equality and independence.

Locke grew up in Waiuku, a small town south of Auckland, where she developed an early aversion to war, witnessing firsthand the injuries of World War I veterans. She maintained strong ties to Waiuku throughout her life, and her later historical research proved crucial to the Ngāti Te Ata iwi's Treaty of Waitangi claim, a unique relationship for a Pākehā of her generation.

Despite the prevailing norms of her time, which saw few working-class children, especially girls, attend high school, Locke pursued her education at Waiuku District High School from 1925 to 1929. She was the sole member of her family to complete high school and the only student in her class during her final two years. Aspiring to be a writer rather than a conventional teacher or nurse, she won a scholarship to the University of Auckland in 1930, coinciding with the beginning of the Great Depression. She faced financial hardship, supporting herself through a combination of scholarships and part-time jobs, including working at the Parnell Public Library. During her university years, she was involved in printing the early literary magazine Phoenix, and her flat became a central hub for its contributors.

A pivotal experience for Locke occurred in 1932 when she witnessed 10,000 unemployed men marching down Queen Street. This "watershed experience" profoundly influenced her future political ideology and activism, instilling in her an ambition "to be one with all who struggled and all who were oppressed." Elsie Locke recounted this moment in her 1981 autobiography, Student at the Gates, stating, "When the last of the ten thousand had passed me, I was left on the pavement to answer the question these men had silently flung at me: whose side are you on? Whoever you are, and wherever you are going, I am going too, I had answered."

During her studies, Locke's interest in socialism grew, leading her to attend meetings of Friends of the Soviet Union and the Fabian Society. In 1932, she organized a Working Women's Convention, and the following year, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and joined the Communist Party of New Zealand. Her autobiography, Student at the Gates, delves into the influences that shaped her socialist philosophies and introduces many of New Zealand's dominant political and literary figures of the 1920s and 1930s.

2.2. Family Life

In 1935, Elsie married Frederick Engels ("Fred") Freeman, a fellow member of the Communist Party, and became Elsie Freeman. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1937, which was considered a "shameful disgrace" at the time. In 1938, her first son, Don, was born, and Elsie raised him as a solo mother during a period when this presented particular challenges.

In November 1941, she married her second husband, John Gibson ("Jack") Locke (born 1908), with whom she remained until his death in 1996. Jack, a meat-worker who had immigrated to New Zealand from England at 19, was a leading figure in the Communist Party, and they had met through party activities. In 1944, following Jack's posting to Christchurch by the Communist Party, they moved into a "tiny gingerbread cottage" at 392 Oxford Terrace, on the banks of the Avon River. Although Elsie preferred country life and was initially reluctant to move to a city, she did so for Jack, and they resided in the cottage for the remainder of their lives.

Elsie and Jack had three more children: Keith, Maire, and Alison. They raised their four children to appreciate the arts and the outdoors, frequently embarking on tramping trips and making sacrifices to send Maire to ballet lessons. Elsie continued to attend cultural events with Maire into her old age. Both Elsie and Jack were lifelong atheists.

Their children continued their legacy of activism. Keith Locke, Elsie's son, served as a Green Party Member of Parliament in the New Zealand Parliament from 1999 to 2011. Her daughter Maire, now known as Maire Leadbeater, served as a councillor in both the Auckland City Council and the Auckland Regional Council. Both Keith and Maire have been long-standing peace and anti-nuclear activists.

3. Major Activities and Contributions

Elsie Locke dedicated her life to social and political reform, making significant contributions through her involvement in various movements, her journalism, and her prolific writing career.

3.1. Communist Party Involvement and Departure

Locke joined the Communist Party of New Zealand in 1933 and quickly became a prominent activist, particularly throughout the 1930s. After graduating from university, she moved to Wellington and took on a leadership role within the local Communist Party branch. In 1934, she became the national organizer of the Working Women's Committees, which emerged from the unemployed workers' movement. These committees were initially formed to publish the monthly feminist journal, The Working Woman, which Locke launched the same year with the support of the Communist Party. This journal ran until November 1936.

In April 1937, its successor, Woman Today, was published. Edited by Locke, this journal aimed for a wider audience and featured contributions from notable writers such as Gloria Rawlinson and Robin Hyde. Woman Today continued until October 1939. Locke later reflected that a "second wave" of feminism began during this period, concentrating much of its expression and growth around Woman Today, before being curtailed by the outbreak of World War II.

In 1936, driven by concerns for families struggling to support unplanned children, Locke and Lois Suckling convened the inaugural meeting of the Sex, Hygiene and Birth Regulation Society, with Locke serving as secretary and Suckling as president. This society was the precursor to New Zealand's Family Planning Association. Locke also ran as the Communist Party candidate for the Wellington Hospital Board and the Lower Hutt City Council in the 1941 local body elections. Her husband, Jack Locke, was chairman of the Christchurch branch of the party and stood as their candidate in several elections during the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout their time in the Communist Party, Jack worked in a freezing works, while Elsie maintained the role of a "traditional housewife and mother" alongside her continued writing and feminist work.

From 1946 to 1948, Elsie was hospitalized with spinal tuberculosis, requiring her to remain flat on her back. This period led to her children being moved around the country for extended durations. Despite tuberculosis being a major killer at the time, Locke survived, using her time in recovery to read and re-evaluate her political beliefs.

Locke developed a conviction that the New Zealand Communist Party needed to cultivate a more "home-grown ideology." At the same time, her internationalist outlook, which initially drew her to the Communist Party, ultimately led to her departure in 1956. Like many others, she left the party in protest against the Soviet response to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the "excesses" of Stalinism. Despite her departure, her husband Jack remained a communist until his death. Elsie later expressed a preference for not having her past involvement in the Communist Party emphasized publicly, stating that it "upsets Jack," despite their agreement to disagree on political matters. In her essay, "Looking for Answers," published in Landfall 48 (December 1958), Locke wrote, "These were times that called to faith, not questioning. I committed the supreme crime: I did question."

Elsie and her family faced ongoing scrutiny due to their Communist Party connections. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon once famously referred to them as the "most notorious Communist family in New Zealand." Their party membership had long-term implications for how Elsie and her family were perceived by certain security agencies. In the 1980s, when Locke made her only overseas trip to a writers' conference in Canada, US authorities mandated that she be accompanied by an armed guard during her stopover in Hawaii, despite her advanced age. The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) maintained extensive files on Elsie and her children. In 2008, her daughter, Maire Leadbeater, received her own SIS file, which dated back to when she was 10 years old delivering the communist newspaper People's Voice. The file contained detailed information from private meetings held in homes and offices and speculated that Elsie's departure from the Communist Party might have strained her marriage. Maire Leadbeater dismissed the file as "unpleasant, inaccurate speculation about highly personal family issues." Keith Locke also received a substantial SIS file, and Elsie's own file was obtained by her biographer. Following Elsie's death, a critical letter published in The Press accused her of being "a Communist, a Stalinist, a tool of the Kremlin, and complicit in the genocide of 100 million people." However, this letter was met with numerous responses defending Locke and condemning The Press for its publication.

3.2. Peace Activism

After leaving the Communist Party in 1956, Locke significantly increased her focus on peace activism, although she had been involved in anti-war issues throughout her life. This included campaigning against conscription in the late 1940s. She regarded nuclear weapons as a greater evil than the Holocaust. In the 1950s, she co-founded the New Zealand branch of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and served as an executive member from 1957 to 1970. Locke was immensely proud of New Zealand's nuclear-free status and the decades of struggle endured to achieve it, remaining committed to the cause for the rest of her life.

3.3. Writing Career

Locke had always aspired to be a writer, but it was in the 1950s that she began to pursue it seriously. She managed to secure a dedicated room for herself in their compact home for over 50 years, a space she valued greatly. Locke highly valued her dedicated writing space, often quoting Virginia Woolf's observation that "if you wanted to write, or for that matter make anything of yourself, you needed a room of your own and five hundred pounds a year. I never had the five hundred pounds but I made sure I always had a room."

Her early published works included political histories and poetry. In 1949, she edited Gordon Watson, New Zealander, 1912-45: His Life and Writings, and in 1950, she wrote a political history of the Canterbury region titled The Shepherd and the Scullery Maid, 1850-1950: Canterbury Without Laurels, both published by the Communist Party. In 1954, she self-published her book of poetry, The Time of the Child: A Sequence of Poems.

In 1959, Locke won the inaugural Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award and its prize of 52.5 NZD in the now-defunct literary essay category. Her winning essay, "Looking for Answers," was selected from 105 entries and provided an account of her reasons for both joining and leaving the Communist Party. It was subsequently published in Landfall 48 in December 1958.

Overall, Elsie Locke became best known as a children's writer. Her career as an author truly flourished in the 1960s when she began contributing to the New Zealand School Journal, published by the School Publication Branch of the Department of Education. She was commissioned by this branch to write a series of historical booklets from 1962 to 1968, aimed at educating children about New Zealand's social history. These were later compiled into The Kauri and the Willow: How we Lived and Grew from 1801-1942 (1984). While working on these series, Locke recognized her limited knowledge of Māori language, culture, history, and spirituality. This realization prompted her to study the language and proactively integrate biculturalism as a central theme in her writing, long before it became a widespread practice. The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature noted that she depicted the Māori point of view "with sympathy and insight in novels that in this respect were in advance of general perceptions and political correctness."

3.3.1. Notable Children's Books

Among her extensive bibliography, several children's books stand out for their lasting impact and popularity:

  • The Runaway Settlers (1965) was Locke's most popular work and has remained continuously in print longer than any other New Zealand children's book. This historical fiction novel is based on the true story of Mrs. Small and her children, who flee from the abusive Mr. Small in Sydney. They assume the family name Phipps and establish a new life in Governors Bay, south of Christchurch. Despite initial hardships, the family's perseverance leads to success, and their descendants continue to reside in Governors Bay. The book was originally illustrated by Anthony Maitland and reissued in 1993 with illustrations by Gary Hebley. In 1999, it received the inaugural Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book, an award Locke cherished.
  • The End of the Harbour: An Historical Novel for Children (1968) arose from Locke's renewed interest in her hometown, Waiuku, following her work for the School Publications Branch. She spent a summer researching the town's history for the novel, which was illustrated by Kāterina Mataira. Set in 1860, the story takes place in Waiuku, a town on the volatile border between the Māori King Movement and the expanding settler society, just as the First Taranaki War was beginning. The narrative follows David Learwood, an 11-year-old Pākehā boy whose parents have moved to Waiuku to manage a local hotel. Although his mother fears encountering Māori, David forms a friendship with Honatana, a local Māori boy, as well as several Pākehā adults sympathetic to Māori, and a Pākehā-Māori boy. This work is described by The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature as "a compassionate exploration of land issues from Maori and Pakeha perspectives."
  • A Canoe in the Mist (1984), published by Jonathan Cape with illustrations by John Shelley, recounts the experiences of two girls during the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. The story centers on Lillian, who lives with her widowed mother in the village of Te Wairoa, a popular tourist destination for its famous volcanic sights around Lake Rotomahana. Lillian befriends Mattie, the daughter of English tourists, and together they visit the renowned Pink and White Terraces. However, ominous signs emerge, including a tidal wave on the usually calm lake and reports of a waka wairuaghostly canoeMaori seen through the mist. The Māori sage Thuhoto predicts disaster. That night, the volcano erupts suddenly, plunging the girls into a desperate struggle for survival amidst widespread destruction. The book was republished in 2005 as part of the Collins Modern Classics series and has been hailed as a "kiwi classic" by the National Library of New Zealand.

4. Later Life and Death

In her later years, Elsie Locke remained actively engaged in community work. She was instrumental, alongside Rod Donald, in the founding of the Avon Loop Planning Association (ALPA) and in fostering community development within the historic Avon Loop residential area in central Christchurch. For her extensive contributions to the community, the University of Canterbury awarded her an honorary D.Litt. in 1987. Locke also continued to advocate for a more balanced and nuanced understanding of New Zealand history.

Elsie Locke passed away in Christchurch on 8 April 2001.

5. Assessment and Legacy

Elsie Violet Locke is widely regarded as a significant figure in New Zealand's social and literary landscape. Her life and work left a profound and lasting impact, both through her direct activism and her influential writings.

5.1. Positive Impact and Contributions

Elsie Locke made a remarkable contribution to New Zealand society. She was an innovative thinker whose ideas and advocacy often predated mainstream acceptance, particularly in her emphasis on biculturalism and Māori perspectives in literature. Her commitment to social justice extended to her family life, where she instilled strong values in her children. Her sons, Keith, became a Member of Parliament, and her daughter, Maire Leadbeater, served as a local councilor; both became prominent peace and anti-nuclear activists, continuing their mother's legacy. Furthermore, Locke's meticulous historical research for her books, particularly those focused on her hometown of Waiuku, proved vital in supporting the Ngāti Te Ata iwi's Treaty of Waitangi claim, demonstrating a tangible positive impact beyond her published works.

5.2. Criticism and Surveillance

Despite her celebrated contributions, Elsie Locke's past involvement with the Communist Party of New Zealand attracted significant criticism and scrutiny throughout her life and even after her death. Robert Muldoon, a former Prime Minister, famously labeled her family the "most notorious Communist family in New Zealand." Her affiliation led to persistent surveillance by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS), who maintained files on her and her children. This surveillance, as revealed in her daughter Maire Leadbeater's file, began when Maire was just 10 years old and included detailed information from private family meetings, which Leadbeater denounced as "unpleasant, inaccurate speculation about highly personal family issues."

Internationally, her communist past led to her being accompanied by an armed guard by US authorities during a layover in Hawaii in the 1980s, despite her advanced age. After her death, a "vicious" letter published in The Press accused her of being "a Communist, a Stalinist, a tool of the Kremlin, and complicit in the genocide of 100 million people." However, this public criticism was largely countered by a wave of letters defending Locke and denouncing the newspaper for publishing the original accusation, highlighting the complex and often polarized public perception of her legacy. Locke herself publicly addressed her reasons for joining and leaving the party in her essay "Looking for Answers," demonstrating a willingness to engage with the controversies surrounding her past.

6. Commemoration

Elsie Locke's enduring legacy is honored through several commemorative initiatives in New Zealand.

Bronze bust of Elsie Locke as part of the Twelve Local Heroes sculpture
Bronze bust of Elsie Locke as part of the Twelve Local Heroes sculpture

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Elsie Locke is the only individual to have a park named in her honor by the Christchurch City Council during her lifetime. The Elsie Locke Park was located on Oxford Terrace in front of the Centennial Pool. However, it was subsequently removed after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake to make way for the Margaret Mahy Playground.

Each year, LIANZA (the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) presents the Elsie Locke Award for "the most distinguished contribution to non-fiction for young adults."

In March 2009, Locke was recognized as one of the Twelve Local Heroes in Christchurch. As part of this commemoration, a bronze bust of her was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.

7. Awards

Elsie Locke received several significant literary and service awards throughout her lifetime, recognizing her contributions to literature and society.

  • Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award** (1959): Awarded for her literary essay "Looking for Answers."
  • Children's Literature Association's Award for Services to Children's Literature** (1992): This award is now known as the Betty Gilderdale Award.
  • Margaret Mahy Award** (1995): She was the fifth recipient of this prestigious award, which celebrates excellence in children's literature.
  • Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book** (1999): Received for her widely popular children's novel, The Runaway Settlers.
  • Honorary D.Litt.** (1987) from the University of Canterbury: This honorary doctorate recognized her extensive work and contributions to the community.

8. Bibliography

  • Locke, Elsie, editor. Gordon Watson, New Zealander, 1912-45 : his life and writings. Auckland: Communist Party, 1949.
  • Locke, Elsie. The Shepherd and the Scullery-Maid, 1850-1950 : Canterbury Without Laurels. Christchurch: New Zealand Communist Party Canterbury District, 1950.
  • Locke, Elsie. The Time of the Child : a sequence of poems. Christchurch, 1954.
  • Locke, Elsie. Ghosts on the Coast : a family fantasy with the Rouseabouts. Clarity Press, 1960.
  • Locke, Elsie. Viet-nam. Wellington: Publications Branch Department of Education, 1963.
  • Locke, Elsie. The Runaway Settlers. London: Jonathan Cape, 1965.
  • Locke, Elsie. Six Colonies in One Country : New Zealand, 1840-1860. Wellington: Government Printer, 1965.
  • Locke, Elsie. Reference notes to The End of the Harbour : an historical novel for children, and bibliography of material relating to Waiuku and the surrounding area. Christchurch: University of Canterbury, 1969.
  • Locke, Elsie. Growing Points and Prickles : Life in New Zealand 1920-60. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1971.
  • Locke, Elsie, and Elizabeth Plumridge. The Roots of the Clover; The story of the Collett sisters and their families. Christchurch: The author, 1971.
  • Locke, Elsie, and New Zealand. School Publications Branch. It's the Same Old Earth. Wellington: Government Printer, 1973.
  • Locke, Elsie, and Murray Grimsdale. Maori King and British Queen, Round the World Histories; no. 34. Amersham, England: Hulton Educational, 1974.
  • Locke, Elsie, and David Waddington. Look Under the Leaves. Christchurch: Pumpkin Press, 1975.
  • Locke, Elsie. Crayfishermen and the Sea : Interaction of man and environment, Social Studies Resource Books. Christchurch: Whitcoulls, 1976.
  • Locke, Elsie. Ugly Little Paua : Moko's Hideout; To Fly to Siberia [and] Tricky Kelly. Christchurch: Whitcoulls, 1976.
  • Locke, Elsie. Discovering the Morrisons (and the Smiths and the Wallaces). Christchurch, 1976.
  • Locke, Elsie. The Gaoler. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, 1978. (A biography of Henry Monson).
  • Locke, Elsie. A Land without Taxes : New Zealand from 1800 to 1840, Bulletin for schools B. Wellington, N.Z.: School Publications Branch Department of Education, 1979.
  • Locke, Elsie. Student at the Gates. Christchurch, N.Z.: Whitcoulls, 1981.
  • Locke, Elsie. Journey under Warning : Reference notes, biographies of historical characters, bibliography. Christchurch: The author, 1983.
  • Locke, Elsie, and Ken Dawson. The Boy with the Snowgrass Hair. Wellington, N.Z.: Price Milburn, 1983.
  • Locke, Elsie. A Canoe in the Mist (illustrated by John Shelley). London: Jonathan Cape, 1984.
  • Locke, Elsie. The Kauri and the Willow : How we lived and grew from 1801 to 1942. Wellington, N.Z.: Government Printer, 1984.
  • Locke, Elsie, and New Zealand Foundation for Peace Studies. Co-operation & Conflict : Pakeha & Maori in Historical Perspective. Auckland, N.Z.: New Zealand Foundation for Peace Studies, 1988.
  • Locke, Elsie, Janet Paul, Christine Tremewan, and Alexander Turnbull Library. Mrs Hobson's Album : given to Eliza Hobson by her friends when she returned to England in June 1843 as a remembrance of her time as wife to New Zealand's first governor : reproduced with commentary and catalogue. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press in association with the Alexander Turnbull Library, 1989.
  • Locke, Elsie, Wira Gardiner, and New Zealand Foundation for Peace Studies. Partnership and peace : essays on biculturalism in Aotearoa - New Zealand. Auckland, N.Z.: The Foundation, 1990.
  • Locke, Elsie, and David John Waddington. Explorer Zach. Auckland, N.Z.: Brick Row, 1990.
  • Locke, Elsie. Peace People : A History of Peace Activities in New Zealand. Christchurch, N.Z.: Hazard Press, 1992.
  • Locke, Elsie. Two Peoples, One Land : A History of Aotearoa/New Zealand especially for young readers, Updated ed. Wellington, N.Z.: GP Publications, 1992.
  • Locke, Elsie, Peter Lole, and Rainbow Reading Programme. The Anti-Litterbug, Rainbow reading. Nelson, N.Z.: Rainbow Reading Programme, 1995.
  • Locke, Elsie. Joe's Ruby. Whatamango Bay, N.Z.: Cape Catley, 1995.
  • Thorn, Margaret, Elsie Locke, and Jacqueline Matthews. Stick Out, Keep Left. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press; Bridget Williams Books, 1997.
  • Locke, Elsie, and Katarina Mataira. The End of the Harbour : an historical novel for children, Rev. ed. Waiuku, N.Z.: W.J. Deed Printing, 2001.