Dame Margaret Sparrow
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A curated selection of resources relating to Dame Margaret Sparrow
contraception, sexual health, birth control, Margaret Sparrow
Dame Margaret Sparrow: sexual health and contraception advocate
Born in Taranaki, Dame Margaret Sparrow is one of New Zealand's leading sexual health advocates. In 2011, she donated most of her collection of contraceptive devices to Te Papa Tongarewa, which were curated in a 2015-2016 exhibition.
Birth control: changing women's lives
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
New museum collection
Donates most of her collection of contraceptive devices to Te Papa Tongarewa.
Radio New Zealand
Dame Margaret Sparrow donates over 800 items to Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Recognition and Awards
- 1987. Queen's Birthday Honours (1987). MBE (Member of the British Empire). Dr Margaret June Sparrow – of Wellington. For services to medicine and the community.
- 1993. New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.
- 2002. Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
- 2009. Redesignated as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Knighthood reinstatement - Margaret Sparrow and Peter Snell. 2009.
Radio New Zealand
2019 | Abortion bill considered in parliament ...
In the lead-up to the bill being debated in Parliament, Dame Margaret Sparrow was regularly interviewed by media outlets, and acknowledged as a leader in the field of contraception and abortion rights in New Zealand.
Episode 5 | On the Rag
The Spinoff
Dr Bush and Dr Sparrow. 1972.
Two doctors who worked for Family Planning.
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Additional resources
Radio interview. Dame Margaret Sparrow, DNZM MBE. Ngā Taonga | Sound & Vision. 1990. Interviewer: Nona Pelletier, Morning Report, RNZ National.
Topic entry. Dame Margaret Sparrow. Te Papa. Authors: Stephanie Gibson, Jen Craddock.
Article. Celebrating 60 years of the Pill in New Zealand: my personal story. Family Planning. 2021. Author: Dame Margaret Sparrow.
Profile on The Early Medical Women of New Zealand. Dame Margaret June Sparrow (nee Muir). 2022.
Items held at National Library of New Zealand | Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa include: New Zealand Sexual Health Society : Photographs (1991 - 2000) and an interview with Margaret Sparrow (1998).
Books
Sparrow, M., & Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand. (2010). Abortion then and now : New Zealand abortion stories from 1940 to 1980. Victoria University Press.
Sparrow, M. (2014). Rough on women : abortion in 19th-century New Zealand. Victoria University Press.
Sparrow, M. (2017). Risking their lives : New Zealand abortion stories, 1900-1939. Victoria University Press.