Joy Cummings

Joyce Anne Cummings, AM (née Plumbe; 23 December 1923 – 1 July 2003) was an Australian politician. She was the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, and Australia's first female Lord Mayor, from 1974 to 1976 and again from 1977 until 1984, when she retired from politics following a severe stroke.

Joy Cummings

AM
Lord Mayor of Newcastle
In office
September 1977 – 16 April 1984
Preceded byGordon Anderson
Succeeded byDon Geddes (Acting)
Lord Mayor of Newcastle
In office
September 1974 – September 1976
Preceded byGordon Anderson
Succeeded byGordon Anderson
Personal details
Born
Joyce Anne Plumbe

(1923-12-23)23 December 1923
Ramsgate, New South Wales
Died1 July 2003(2003-07-01) (aged 79)
New Lambton Heights, New South Wales
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
AwardsMember of the Order of Australia

Personal life

Cummings was born Joyce Anne Plumbe on 23 December 1923 at Ramsgate, New South Wales, to Charlotte and Dallas Plumbe. She moved to the Newcastle area at the onset of the Second World War when her father, a fireman, was transferred to the Scott Street Brigade. It was here that she met and married Ray Cummings, who was also a fireman, together raising a family of four children.[1]

Cummings is the maternal grandmother of actress Sarah Wynter.[2][3]

Political career

Cummings became a member of the Australian Labor Party in 1938, at the age of 15,[1] and later entered local politics in 1968. During her political career she was active in promoting environmental and heritage conservation, the arts, local business and industry, and social reforms. Some of her achievements included the preservation of the East End of Newcastle and Cooks Hill, the refurbishment of the Civic Theatre, and the preservation of Blackbutt Reserve and the Shortland Wetlands. She was also a vocal opponent to the closure of the Newcastle State Dockyards. Two significant social reforms was the use by her of Advance Australia Fair during Citizenship Ceremonies in 1977 and the flying of the Aboriginal flag over the town hall, both of which were Australian firsts.[4]

Cummings was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1975 and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.[5][6]

Death

Joy Cummings died at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle's New Lambton Heights on 1 July 2003.[2]

Legacy

The Joy Cummings Promenade on Newcastle's harbour foreshore was dedicated in her honour in 2012.[7] The promenade plaque states that Cummings "presided over a period of change, as Newcastle shed its heavy industrial base to become to the city of beauty, vibrancy and diversity that it is today." [7]

A bronze bust of Cummings was unveiled outside of Civic Station in the Newcastle CBD in December 2019.[8][9] The bust was created by Mudgee-based sculptor and artist Margot Stephens and was overseen by Newcastle City Council.[8] According to the City of Newcastle, Cummings was the first person in Newcastle to have received a bronze bust in their honour at the time.[10]

References
  1. Badger, Margaret; Williams, Helen; Cummings, Ray; Connell, Kathryn (28 August 2003). "Pioneer who kept her city close at heart". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. Henry, Margaret (18 January 2019). "Joy Cummings – "Words were not important – love has its own language" – A tribute to Australia's first female Lord Mayor". Hunter Living Histories. University of Newcastle. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  3. Horin, Adele (7 April 2011). "She once escaped a killer – under today's laws she would still be trapped". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. "Display". collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au.
  5. "Office of the Order of Australia". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 17 June 1975. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. "Joy Anne Cummings". It's an Honour. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. "Joy Cummings". Monument Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  8. Parris, Michael (30 August 2019). "Bronze statue pays tribute to pioneering Newcastle lord mayor Joy Cummings". Newcastle Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  9. "Joy Cummings' trailblazing spirit captured in bronze". City of Newcastle. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  10. "Pioneering civic leader to be immortalised in bronze". City of Newcastle. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
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