Skiting about our fiercely feminist great-grandmother
Ada Wells: suffrage warrior, feminist, healer, mystic, and matriarch.
It’s just over 100 years since Ada Wells became the first woman ever elected to the Christchurch City Council. And what an uproar she caused! A beautiful, brave, bossy, bloody difficult woman. My five sisters and I are proud to be of her tribe.
A short article that catches the flavour of her life: All About Ada
Great woman she must have been! I was the first woman elected to the East Pilbara Shire in Western Australia!
Good for you! What year was that, Rainee? They had to wait a lot longer.
It was in the early 1990’s Rachel. It is a pastoral and mining area with some Indigenous communities as well. Very blokey territory!
I bet! What a revolution!
Omg that’s fantastic! What a woman to be proud of, & descended from ❤
She was a hero. Boots and all.
What a woman. It’s people like Ada that we must thank for the freedoms that we now take for granted.
They have to be fought for again and again, I fear
First, I have to thank you for skiting, a word I’d not seen, despite being an avid reader since the age of 6. I had to look it up; at nearly 70, learning a new word still gives me joy. Second, thank you for sharing the link to the story of your remarkable great-grandmother. What a smart, courageous, determined soul she was. I imagine her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are equally tenacious and outspoken where cause demands. I certainly hope so!
Yes, I enjoyed writing “skiting” which is a word way out of date even here. Ada was remarkable indeed, and she’s a hard act to follow!
Ah, so the word fit the woman AND the times! Love that.
I guess so! We used it as children…