Officers and Committee 2025–26
President
Professor Barbara Brookes is Professor Emerita, University of Otago. She is an historian whose work has concentrated on the intersections between the history of women and the history of medicine. Her first book, Abortion in England, 1900-1967 (Croom Helm, 1988) was reprinted by Routledge in 2013. She has co-edited a number of volumes, most recently Past Caring: Women, Work and Emotion with Jane McCabe and Angela Wanhalla (Otago University Press, 2019) and with James Dunk, Knowledge Making: Historians, Archives and Bureaucracy (Routledge, 2020). In 2017 she won the Ockham Illustrated non-fiction prize for A History of New Zealand Women (Bridget Williams Books, 2016). She is now a Wellington resident and joined the committee in July 2023. She took over as Acting President of the Friends of Turnbull Library in April 2024 and was then formally elected at the AGM in July.
Treasurer
Gillian Cross is a self-employed accountant. Prior to setting up her own firm she worked for the BNZ and Westpac in the financial accounting and investment management areas. She is involved in many not for profit organisations. Gillian’s husband Tony served on the Friends of the Turnbull Committee for several years and is a life member. Gillian joined the Friends committee in 2010 as treasurer.
Past President
Katherine Baxter has a BA and a Master of Public Administration – both from Victoria University – and a long history in the public sector including (in 2009) becoming Policy Manager and Deputy Chief Executive at Manatū Taonga (MCH) on policy spanning the visual and performing arts, heritage buildings and collections, documenting New Zealand’s history, and the screen and media sectors. In 2015, she moved to the Beehive in various Ministerial support roles. Since 2019, she has enjoyed the (slightly) slower pace of family life and community roles. Katherine is currently on the Board of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and a Trustee of the Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust. Katherine was President from 2021-2024.
Membership Secretary
Robin Anderson has been a member of the Friends since he was 18. He was Law Librarian, Wellington, for the Law Society from 1990 to 2023, at first for the Wellington District Law Society and later also the New Zealand Law Society. Before that he was a librarian at the Dept of Justice and previously a research librarian at the Parliamentary Library. His interests include history, classical music, architecture, railways, town planning and maps, as well as good food and wine. He joined the FoTL committee in 2002, and was editor of Off the Record from 2016 to 2020. He became Membership Secretary in 2024.
The Committee
Dr Elizabeth Bowyer completed her MA and PhD in History at Te Herenga Waka Victoria – University of Wellington. In 2024 she received a Judith Binney Writing Award to adapt her PhD thesis, ‘Women Contracting in Law c. 1840–1920: Gender and Settler Colonialism in the Courts of Aotearoa New Zealand’ into a monograph. She has worked as researcher, lecturer, tutor, and teaching assistant and has published in a number of academic journals. She works at Te Tari Whakatau – The Office of Treaty Settlements and Takutai Moana. Elizabeth joined the Friends committee in July 2024.
Steve Cosgrove was a polytechnic lecturer in ICT for 30 years, including 22 years at Whitireia, Steve joined the committee in 2022. While research was always part of his work, this was emphasized when Whitireia started offering post-graduate courses about 2012. The Turnbull is a leading source of research material for Aotearoa which motivates Steve to support work of the Friends. He is a passionate advocate for Wellington, actively supporting a positive, future-focused, kaupapa for the city.
Kate Fortune accompanied her late husband Graham Fortune on diplomatic postings while continuing to maintain an involvement with books and publishing. She has a BA from Otago University. After becoming administrator at the NZ Book Council (1977-80), she was Director of Booksellers NZ (1980-87) and later worked for Allen & Unwin and Bridget Williams Books, and was also a former Director of the NZ Film Archive. She was Publications Coordinator, National Library of Australia (1994-96) and was co-editor of The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia (2000). Kate joined the Committee in 2002, was Treasurer (2004-07) and a former editor of Off the Record (2005-2015). She was President from 2018 to 2021.
Wendy Hinton hails from New Zealand’s Deep South and holds a BA Hons in history from Otago University. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1988 as a career diplomat, with postings in Singapore, Beijing, Taiwan, Geneva, Warsaw and Ankara. She was New Zealand Ambassador to Poland and Ukraine (2012-17) and to Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Azerbaijan (2018-22). As a Conversation Partner, she supports international officials studying English in New Zealand under the NZELTO programme. Wendy enjoys walking, wine, travel, good movies, family research and spending time with friends and family. She joined the FoTL committee in 2025.
Jim Mayo is an Auckland businessman, head of the Mayo Group which imports and
distributes mounting systems for flat panel television, audio and video systems, as well as a
range of high performance radios. He is an active Rotarian whose interests include motor
sports and cars (he is a life member of the Bruce McLaren Trust Supporters Club). Other
interest includes music; he was once Chairman of the NZ Record Retailers Federation. He is
also a member of Heritage New Zealand (formerly NZ Historic Places Trust). He travels to
Wellington frequently and has a long-standing interest in the Turnbull Library. Jim joined the
Friends of the Turnbull in 1973 and joined the Committee in 2004.
Dr Daniel Morrow has been Principal Historian at the Waitangi Tribunal Unit, Ministry of Justice, since 2018. Dan is a history graduate from the University of Auckland and the University of Melbourne who taught at RMIT University in Melbourne (2009-2012) and at the University of Otago (2011-2013). He was Curator, Social History at Waikato Museum from 2013 to 2018. He joined the FoTL committee in December 2023.
Dr Anne Phillips has a background in law and art history. Her iwi affiliations are Ngaruahine (Taranaki) and Ngapuhi (North Auckland). She joined the Friends of Turnbull Library committee at the AGM in July 2021.
Winston Roberts joined the Friends of Turnbull Library committee at the AGM in July 2024.
Dr Robin Skinner is in the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Victoria University of Wellington, where he has taught courses in history, Pacific architecture and research methods alongside the third year design studio. The annual New Zealand Institute of Architects President’s Awards in 2020 included recognition for Robin, for ‘exemplary and inspirational’ professional services to architecture, noting that ‘the profession owes Robin a debt of gratitude for advancing the cause of architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand’. Robin’s PhD (from Victoria) surveyed commentary on New Zealand architecture. Robin has previously taught in Design at the University of Otago, and has researched and published on aspects of New Zealand architectural history. Robin joined the Friends of Turnbull Library Committee in 2006.
Tess Tuxford is a Senior Research Advisor at the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, where she manages the Resilient Buildings and Supporting People and Decisions research portfolios. She previously held research management roles at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Tess holds a Master of Science in Society and a Bachelor of Arts in History. Her academic interests lie in the history of science, with a particular focus on the contributions of women. In 2020, she was awarded Forest & Bird’s inaugural Force of Nature history scholarship. Tess joined the Friends of the Turnbull committee in 2024.
Rachel Underwood QSM joined the Friends of the Turnbull Committee in 1987 and served as President from September 1996 until July 2018. Rachel was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in June 2019 for services to the community. A former Registered Nurse at Wellington Hospital, she married David Underwood and had a family of four. Later she completed a BA at Victoria University and a Diploma in Teaching and worked as teacher-librarian for some years. She was a founding member of the Downstage Theatre Society and a former President, and she has also chaired the Board of Governors of Wellington High School. Other voluntary positions she has held include National Council for Teaching of English; Board Chair Wellington High School; Various positions St Peter’s Church Willis Street; Former Member of Wellington Anglican Synod