1. Eve Poole was the first woman and Jew to hold this position.
20 Facts About Eve Poole
1. 2.
Eve Poole's father was brutally beaten in a Nazi street demonstration against Jews in 1932, and thus began a years-long struggle to migrate the family to Palestine.
3.
Eve Poole was sent to train in Tell El Kebir, getting engaged to a French officer named Jean there.
4.
In 1942 she became a driver for Vernon Eve Poole, who was a tank commander in the 20th Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
5.
Eve Poole married Vernon on 1 March 1943 in Cairo, much to the distress of her parents.
6.
Eve Poole received an honourable discharge upon discovering she was pregnant, and was transported by the MS Wanganella to New Zealand.
7.
Eve Poole moved in with her in-laws in Vernon's hometown of Invercargill.
8.
Eve Poole worked as a speech therapist for the disabled and was fluent in German, English, French, and Hebrew.
9.
Eve Poole was only the second woman to ever run for the council, and was the first to be elected.
10.
Eve Poole topped the poll in 1974 and was made Deputy Mayor.
11.
Eve Poole was approached to run for mayor in 1977, but decided against it at that time.
12.
Eve Poole made her first challenge in 1980 but was unsuccessful, losing to the incumbent F Russell Miller by 400 votes.
13.
Eve Poole returned to politics in 1983, making a second run for Mayor.
14.
Eve Poole was instrumental in the construction of the Invercargill Public Library, which was later named in her honour after her death in 1992.
15.
Eve Poole served as president of the Southland Museum Trust Board, and as a member of the Anderson Park Art Gallery Council and the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council.
16.
Eve Poole was dedicated to the brightening and beautifying of the city, planting flowers in the city centre, installing coloured paving stones, and buying secondhand Christmas lights from Regent Street in London.
17.
On Dame Catherine Tizard's first official visit to Invercargill as Governor-General, Eve Poole presented her with a painting of Milford Sound from local artist Peter Beadle, of whom Eve Poole was a fan.
18.
Eve Poole established Invercargill's first sister city relationship with Kumagaya, Japan.
19.
Only a month after being elected to a fourth term, Poole was admitted to Dunedin Hospital on 25 November 1992 due to severe back pain.
20.
Eve Poole is buried at Invercargill's Eastern Cemetery, along with her husband who died on 27 April 2002.