by Rebecca Macfie. Published by Awa Press, 2021. Reviewed by John Meredith

Helen Kelly was well-known to New Zealanders as the President of Council for Trade Unions, a job about which she was passionate. She died in 2016 of lung cancer, aged just 52.

As Trade Unions President she gained wide publicity when she supported the right of New Zealand actors to seek a collective agreement with the producers of The Hobbit which was being filmed in New Zealand. Despite opposition and even ridicule it was obvious her advocacy for workers was her primary focus and she did not yield when the going was tough.

Helen argued strongly for better protection for workers in the forestry industry and for additional compensation for the families of workers who were killed. She also stood beside the families of the 29 miners killed in the Pike River mine explosion. A spokesperson for these families said: “She was our friend. She genuinely cared.”

Rebecca Macfie tells about Helen’s life from her early years, through her career and death, with attention to detail. Photographs illustrate the story. Helen emerges as highly intelligent, insightful, determined, immensely hard-working and possessing natural charm. I found her commitment to justice with compassion deeply moving.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 264 October 2021: 31