Ellen Melville Centre facts for kids
The Ellen Melville Centre is a special community building in Freyberg Square in central Auckland, New Zealand. It's named after Ellen Melville, who was a very important woman. She was the first woman ever elected to the Auckland City Council. She was also the second woman in New Zealand to become a lawyer!
A Place for Everyone
The idea for this community centre came from Ellen Melville herself. She wanted a place in the city centre to celebrate 100 years since the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. She also wanted to honor the amazing work of pioneer women who helped build Auckland.
The building, originally called the Pioneer Women’s & Ellen Melville Memorial Hall, opened in 1962. It was designed by a chief architect named Tibor Donner. The project cost about £56,200. Many groups helped pay for it, including a big donation from the Queen Street Business Association and money from the Auckland City Council. Women's organizations also raised a lot of money.
Modern Updates
The centre got a big makeover and reopened in September 2017. As part of this update, a large bronze sculpture was added. It's called Justice and was created by Lisa Reihana. The sculpture shows the scales of justice, but they are tilted to favor women. This represents fairness and equality for women.
Today, the centre has five rooms that different community groups can use. Organizations like the Plunket Society run classes and programs there. Each of the five rooms is named after an important woman from the region: Helen Clark, Betty Wark, Elizabeth Yates, Marilyn Waring, and Eleitino (Paddy) Walker.
