39 Facts About Helene Ritchie

Helene Ruth Paula Ritchie is a former local body politician, registered psychologist and mediator, and a board member from Wellington, New Zealand.

Helene Ritchie represented the city council on boards of its subsidiaries, including museums and an airport.

Helene Ritchie was elected twice to the Wellington Regional Council, and to the local district health board for 15 years.

Helene Ritchie was born in Wellington to refugee parents who had fled the Holocaust in Prague, arriving in New Zealand in 1939 and 1940.

Helene Ritchie grew up in the state housing area of Naenae.

Helene Ritchie attended Hutt Valley High School and became head prefect.

Helene Ritchie studied psychology, education, languages and dispute resolution at Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University of Palmerston North where she was awarded three postgraduate degrees: Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts with Honours, Bachelor of Educational Studies, and an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree, and two diplomas: a Diploma of Education and a Diploma of Business Studies.

Helene Ritchie then worked as a secondary school teacher, later a university extension lecturer, an executive director of a trade union correspondence education service and in early childhood education.

Helene Ritchie undertook psychology training and was appointed as a psychologist in the Education Department in 1977, focusing on children and families with special needs.

Helene Ritchie helped to develop an approach away from deficit diagnosing and labeling to identifying strengths and needs and enhancing them through a psycho-social and educational approach and developing individual educational plans.

Helene Ritchie ensured funding and approval for alternative schooling for young people who otherwise no longer attended traditional secondary schools, and establishment of a new 'Work Experience Unit' within a secondary school for young persons who found traditional schooling too challenging.

In 1966, she married Peter Deans Helene Ritchie and had two children: Timothy in 1971 and Jonathan in 1972.

Helene Ritchie came into politics in the 1970s through the women's movement and joined the Labour Party in 1976.

Helene Ritchie later took on leadership roles in the local Women's Electoral Lobby.

At a time when only four of 87 members of Parliament were women and only 13 women had ever served in Parliament, Helene Ritchie was selected by Labour for the then safe National seat of Ohariu electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives in the 1978 general election.

Helene Ritchie was unsuccessful and placed second behind National's Hugh Templeton.

Helene Ritchie sought selection for the safe Labour seat of Christchurch Central in a 1979 by-election.

Helene Ritchie stood for selection in a number of other safe Labour seats, including the Napier electorate in 1980 where she lost to Geoff Braybrooke, who held the seat until 2002.

Helene Ritchie had attempted to gain the Labour nomination for the Island Bay electorate in the lead up to the 1987 general election after Frank O'Flynn announced his retirement, but the nomination ultimately went to Elizabeth Tennet.

Helene Ritchie stated she was "knocked for six" after failing to win the Island Bay nomination.

Helene Ritchie was first elected to the Wellington City Council in 1977, serving for 12 years until resigning in 1989.

Helene Ritchie was elected concurrently to the first Wellington Regional Council in 1980, from which she resigned in 1983.

Helene Ritchie saw this as a betrayal of Labour's fundamental policies, and as contrary to her reason for joining the Party.

Helene Ritchie rejoined the Labour Party after a gap of few years, but still stood for election as an Independent.

In 1986, Helene Ritchie became Deputy Mayor to Jim Belich, the first woman to hold the position in the Capital.

Helene Ritchie was dumped by her Labour colleagues on the council in 1988 following a series of feuds with Labour councillors over policy.

Helene Ritchie stepped out of politics for six years to care for her terminally ill husband.

Helene Ritchie was re-elected in the Northern ward in 1998 and remained on the council for a further 18 years until 2016 when she resigned as a councillor to run for the mayoralty again.

In 1981 Helene Ritchie established a delegation of prominent persons throughout New Zealand and co-led that delegation with the first Ombudsman, Sir Guy Powles, to present a submission to the Governor General Sir David Beattie, disclaiming apartheid and seeking a stop to the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand.

One of Helene Ritchie's achievements was the declaration of Wellington as a nuclear weapon free zone in 1982.

Between 1984 and 1989 Helene Ritchie spearheaded and led as a councillor the five year city-wide Moa Point campaign to build a sewage treatment plant.

In 1986 Helene Ritchie chaired the Civic Centre project, saying it would give Wellington a heart.

Helene Ritchie focused and campaigned for years in her ward for a new library for Johnsonville alongside the upgraded pool and community centre as a cohesive community hub.

Helene Ritchie focused on open and recreational space on the waterfront, personally and successfully submitting to the Environment Court, alongside Waterfront Watch led by Pauline Swann, to ensure open public space instead of a Hilton Hotel colonising a large part of the Waterfront for private gain and use.

Helene Ritchie's focus as a Health Board member was primarily on improving mental health services establishing and heading a mental health subcommittee, and on attempting to lower the rate of suicides and on the provision of home and community support services.

In 2016 Helene Ritchie was in the media headlights after being caught parking her car over a pedestrian crossing in the carpark at Wellington Hospital.

Helene Ritchie later apologised for the incident and stated that as a section of the carpark was fenced off by construction workers, she was worried that she would be late for a meeting if she spent any longer searching for a space.

In 2016, Helene Ritchie resigned as a councillor but stood for the mayoralty.

Helene Ritchie then took a sabbatical to research, write and pursue other priorities.