Connie Birchfield's Story
Maureen Birchfield
THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT
This is the story of a spirited and courageous woman who was driven by a concern for the welfare of ordinary people. Written by her daughter, it has a liveliness and immediacy which would be difficult for an outsider to achieve. Connie Birchfield grew up in Lancashire – working in a cotton mill from the age of thirteen – and emigrated to New Zealand in the 1920s. She became involved in unions and the Labour Party as a hotel worker, and joined the Communist Party as an unemployed worker in the 1930s. In many ways she was a woman ahead of her time – a fine street orator, a candidate in several municipal and general elections, an activist in the working women's movement – much of this while bringing up a family with a husband away at war. Her local community benefited from her organising ability and she always spoke her mind – so much so that she was expelled from the Communist Party in 1957.
Author
Maureen Birchfield is a former teacher and student advisor. She has worked for the National Oral History Association of New Zealand, the Society for Research on Women, the Trade Union History Project, and the Women's Electoral Lobby.
Publication details
Paperback, 216 pages
ISBN 1 877 13353 1
RRP $34.95
Published in 1998
OUT OF PRINT