Hockey sur glace aux JO 2026 : « On s’entraîne comme des pros, mais on n’est pas payées », la double vie de Lore Baudrit, capitaine de l’équipe de France

L’attaquante aux 250 sélections sous le maillot national dispute, à compter de jeudi, le premier tournoi olympique de sa carrière. Comme la majorité de ses coéquipières, elle doit jongler entre sa vie de sportive de haut niveau et son travail.

Strong, Independent Women #WonderWomen

Strong, Independent Women #WonderWomen

Waiau District History - International Women's Day Historic Remembrance Event ... on eHive

This entry is in honour of #InternationalWomensDay, held annually each 8th March: This week in history, nearly 100 years ago, a young local lass by the name of Georgina Phyllis Scott, was reported in the Southland Times and other papers across the motu or country, to have successfully swum not just once across the Waiau River in Murihiku Southland, but also second time, and not just one way, but crossing both ways the final time. At this time, the Waiau River here was considered one of the fastest flowing rivers in the whole of Aotearoa NZ. Even local Māori would not take their waka across and early surveyors were swept away in boats. It was claimed in the news that she was the first woman to have undertaken such a feat. Now, for a young woman to have accomplished such a thing in 1929, that got my attention. This was not the kind of activity young ladies did back in those days… It would have been frowned upon by many. But interestingly enough, there would have been a few other women around who were starting to buck the system of patriarchy that had held their "fair sex" down for so long, who would have been secretly excited and supportive of her glorious adventure. But... this was not all our Phyllis Scott did! I started to investigate this lively young lady and became more and more surprised as I went. Georgina (known as Phyllis) started from what looks like very humble beginnings, but she was the daughter of settler stock. It is of note that she gained her teachers pass in Waihōpai Invercargill in 1927 and at the time of her exploits on the Waiau River, she was said to have been teaching at the Tūātapere School. So let us take a look back at who “Miss Phyllis Scott” was and exactly where she came from. Born at Millers Flat further up country, just a typical country lad on the land, Phyllis’ father William James Scott, was to later take up land for himself at the new closer settlement block at Otahu. In FW Miller’s “West To The Fiord’s” account of the Clifden Settlement, he tells us in Peter Begg’s recollections of the area from his own family settling there, that William Scott was one of the earliest settlers in the district. We find from other writings on his community involvement, that he was there from at least 1894. In 1903 William Scott was married to Isabella Jane Pearce, the daughter of Catharine and Thomas George at Wakapatu. They were reputedly married at Ōtautau, but even though the family are mentioned in the History of the Merrivale-Waiau Presbyterian Church which included Otahu Flat, this marriage was not undertaken in any of the local Presbyterian Churches, as they don’t show up in the records. Their daughter Phyllis was born in 1912, she had her birth registered in Ōtautau as the nearest Courthouse, but she likely was born at home where she grew up, on the Otahu Flat, along with her 5 siblings (the eldest two of whom were twins). Their father William’s 1050 odd acres, was adjacent to Frank Pearce’s property. This land was within exploring distance of local Rivers, Lakes and Mountains, and it looks like Phyllis had much pleasure in getting acquainted with all these. It seems from her later life, Phyllis took great advantage of exploring and learning about the natural world at her doorstep, as we can see from her later exploits, that she was quite at home on the water, in the bush, climbing mountains and exploring the world. Not generally the kind of thing that young ladies did back in the 1920’s & 30’s, especially not in Southland! Phyllis is recorded as attending Otahu Flat School from 1916 (when she was only 4!) until 1923 and in a testament to her academic prowess, as well as her later physical abilities, she skipped some years of her schooling and was promoted into Standard 5 from Standard 2 in 1922. From here, she went to Girls High. It is of interest that her father was one of the three local men who saw to getting this school built in 1915 and it was erected on land owned by him. Originally called “the house school” as the local householders had built it, the school was made from timber on another of the local men’s sawmill properties, Richard (Dick) Pearce. It is of note that Phyllis' father, William James Scott, was a Commissioner at Otahu Flat School in 1932 and again in 1933. His name is also first in a list of those who gave service to the school at Clifden, in the 75th Jubilee booklet, and he was at the first householders meeting held in relation to getting a school there in 1894. Before the Otahu School was built, the local children used to have class at Pearce’s old homestead. Eventually the Otahu Flat school house and the land it sat on, were later taken over by the Education Board and eventually closed in 1942. However, it was refurbished and restored in 2010 by some local historical buffs and repair enthusiasts. It can also be supposed that it was here where Phyllis gained an interest in her career of teaching, although it could have been a career not of choice, but of one that was expected of a young women in those days. Phyllis looks to have wanted a more exciting life and after having this for a couple of decades, one wonders what she thought of “settling down” to be just a housewife? Even if she did still get to move around the country. While some accounts say the Otahu Flat school opened in 1914, the very first Teacher’s appointment was not made until the end of 1915. I note that in a recollection of her first day memories of coming there to teach, when the school finally opened in January 1916, Alice Dawson remarks that she was met at the gate by three men – these being Mr Owen, Mr Pearce and Mr Scott (William James). Alice Dawson recalls that she had 7 pupils when she started at the new school, and 3 of them were William Jame’s Scott’s children, most likely the 3 oldest, Alex, Avis and Edith. Phyllis was next in line and likely started in 1917 at age 5. First Teacher Alice Dawson also remembers the school had no furniture when she arrived, so they had continued to have classes at the Pearce Homestead until it could be fitted out. Alice also remembers the sweet children she taught, and Avice (sometimes called Avis) Scott being one of those who had bought their rabbit hunting money to her as they thought she needed it. As a teacher, Alice was shocked to later learn that although her wages were paid by the Education Board, the school buildings and all her board and lodging had to be paid for by the children’s parents. Alice Dawson taught at the Otahu Flat School from 1916 until 1918. It is more than possible that Alice and her replacement Nina Gray, had quite an influence in Phyllis’ life at school in her first few years. Also in the 75th Jubilee account, it is noted that 4 of the 6 William James Scott children of Otahu Flat School (Phyllis’ siblings) attended the event in January 1970, of Clifden & Otahu Schools. These were: Alex Scott, Avice (Avis) Scott, Edith Scott, Frances Scott. The first 3 were first day pupils, Frances did not start school until 1918. Phyllis must have gone to study for her teaching at a young age, only 15, as she got her Teachers Pass in 1927 and was only born in 1912! It is not clear where she first started out teaching, but the first reference to her teaching was at the time of her famous at the time swim, and her being at Tūātapere School in 1929. The teachers register records confirm that from 1 February 1929 to 31 January 1930, Phyllis Scott was a Probationary Assistant at Tūātapere School. After that, later in 1930, she is next reported to be attending the University in Dunedin and is intending to join an expedition to the West Coast Sounds to search for the last of the Ngatimamoe tribe. This sounds equally exhilarating as her prior exploits on the Waiau. We start to get a sense of her attitude to experiencing life. Phyllis is already the only known woman who has succeeded in swimming across the Waiau River in Murihiku Southland, and not just once, but twice. Being from the area, she also has good knowledge of the land around the lakes of Monowai and what was previously known as Hauroto. Miss Scott believes the Ngatimamoe were not annihilated in their last battle with the Ngaitahu at Te Anau as reported, and considers the exhibition to be a worthwhile cause. It was the greatest disappointment to not be able to find out if the exhibition went ahead or if Phyllis was actually on it, as nothing else was recorded. But I am determined to keep looking. Once again it is not clear where Phyllis was teaching, but in 1933 she is listed as being the Relieving Teacher, on Probationary Appointment at Ōtautau School for term 3. Then in 1934 Phyllis is back in her old stomping ground and is the appointed Assistant Teacher for the Clifden School for the year. Another of the local schools that her father was instrumental in ensuring was built, along with the later one at Otahu Flat. Life must have been getting too boring for Phyllis, as in 1935, Phyllis was once again making a name for herself in the world of woman’s firsts. Phyllis and another woman friend of hers were the first women to climb two peaks in the Remarkables Ranges, and this equally remarkable feat was reported in various papers across Aotearoa NZ at that time. Around this this time Phyllis seems to head out of the local area to Murchison, and is listed as a teacher in that district from 1935 onwards. In 1939 Phyllis is still teaching in Murchison, the first time she seems to have stuck out any job situation. But with her characteristic cheekiness, Phyllis and another lady friend, Ivy Smith, take off from Dunedin on a trip into Milford Sound and get in trouble. After sensibly planning ahead to get their clothes and sleeping bags sent by rail to a station along the way, they then found on their arrival at said station, that their gear had been forwarded on to Waihōpai Invercargill instead. So, their journey consisted of no food, no changes of clothes and no bedding. In a quirk of funny fate, they found a wonderful model yacht on their trip, which they termed as being “beautifully rigged”, but they rightly did not feel that this find was any compensation for the inconvenience of having their luggage lost for them! It does however make for a great story. Ever the adventurer, at the end of this same year, Miss Phyllis Scott, teacher at Murchison, exchanged places with another teacher to go to Winnipeg and experience life in Canada. It is of note that while she was over there, she also traveled to the USA and Mexico as well, in 1940. When Phyllis had settled back into life in Aotearoa NZ in 1941, she returned to Murchison, but this time instead of her being listed as a teacher on the electoral rolls, she was a called a “spinster”. I am not sure if this was because she had no teaching post at the time, or if it was more of an age thing. Anyway, a few more years pass before we find her again, and it is not known what she was doing at that time either, but she could have once again been teaching. Surprisingly to myself at least, as she seemed to have such a wonderful life full of adventure, Phyllis married Alfred Montague Bush in her late 30’s, sometime between 1943 and 1949. He was a bank clerk/bank officer and she ended up living all over the North Island with him, from Wellington, to Auckland, including the Waikato and further north in Kaipara, after he eventually became a Bank Manager. They do not appear to have had any children. The fact there are no descendants may be the main reason why no-one yet seems to have uncovered Phyllis’ amazing exploits! I also wonder just what she got up to during her many years of married life with no children, as her younger days seemed to be so exciting. All of her electoral roll listings show her only as “married”, so even if she did have some kind of job at some point, we would not know what. Sometime before 1978, Alfred had retired from banking and the couple had moved to Pakuranga to live out their lives there. Alfred was to pass away in 1993 in Auckland. It has for some strange reason proved near impossible to find Phyllis’ death details, but a descendant believes she died in 2004. If anyone knows, please do tell us. We also sadly have no photos of Phyllis, despite her amazing feats of agile and outdoors displays of strength, determination and defying the way women “ought” to behave in the early 1900’s. But, we have been given a couple of photos of her mother, Isabella Jane Scott (née Pearce), and one is shown here. Two different views of the Otahu Flat School are attached here too, also shown is the Waiau River at the Clifden Bridge, the most likely place that Phyllis swam across, twice. We hope that you have enjoyed getting to know Phyllis Scott and also learning about her (un)ladylike adventures of nearly 100 years ago and that you help to make her history count by sharing her story with others. International Women’s Day should be a time to make the women of yesterday and today the hero’s of history that we know they are. Kia ora, thanks! Hopefully this entry will be added to as more information comes to hand. If you or anyone you know has any more information or photos to share or accounts of Phyllis Scottl during the years of her amazing life, please do share in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page.