Magda Wallscott

c. 1994-97

Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena, P1997-011-90. Kind permission from Te Runanga Ōtākou Ngāi Tahu

Unpublished

Louise Magdalene Teowaina (Magda) Wallscott (1898-1999) was daughter of Ema Karetai and Frederick Wallscott, and she was the great grand-daughter of Chief Karetai, who signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 13 June 1840. Although a foundation member of the Araiteuru Cultural Club, a member of the Otakou Māori Committee, Te Wai Pounamu District Council, and the Māori Mission Committee, it was Wallscott’s role in the Māori Women’s Welfare League that she most treasured. She was a founding member of the Otepoti Branch, and relished their achievements: ‘We have made our voice heard…we are listened to…we have just simply been so sincere that people have taken notice of us.’ In 1960, she became the first Maori woman in Dunedin to be a Justice of the Peace, and in 1976, she was awarded the Queen Service Medal for services to the community.