Jimmy O'Dea
Jimmy O'Dea was an Irish-born activist, born in 1935, who became a prominent figure in social justice movements in New Zealand. Raised in poverty and initially separated from his mother, O'Dea faced numerous challenges before moving to England and then Australia, where he witnessed discrimination against Aboriginal Australians. His activism intensified after he moved to New Zealand in 1957, where he became involved in the construction of the Meremere power station and later supported trade unions and the Communist Party. A significant moment in his activism was his participation in the 1975 Māori Land March, which protested against the Crown's appropriation of Māori land.
O'Dea was also an active participant in the Takaparawhau/Bastion Point land occupation, where he and others demanded the return of land taken by the government. Throughout his life, he protested against various injustices, including the Vietnam War and housing redevelopment projects that threatened low-income communities. O'Dea's unwavering commitment to advocating for workers, Indigenous rights, and the marginalized earned him respect and admiration, particularly among Māori communities. He passed away at the age of 86 in November 2021, leaving behind a legacy of social justice advocacy that inspired many.
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Subject Terms
Jimmy O'Dea
Activist and community organizer
- Born: October 18, 1935
- Birthplace: Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland
- Place of death: Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), New Zealand
Significance: Jimmy O’Dea was a New Zealand activist. He led or participated in demonstrations against racism, nuclear power, Apartheid, and other social problems. He was involved in many of New Zealand’s largest protests related to Māori land rights, including efforts to return land that had been seized and controlled by the government.
Background
Jimmy O’Dea was born to an unwed mother in Ireland in 1935. She was initially not permitted to keep her child. He was sent to a Roman Catholic Church-run orphanage but later his mother reclaimed him and raised him alone. He grew up in poverty and had to leave school.
When he was seventeen, he moved to England to find work. He joined the Merchant Marines and sailed to the Pacific. He migrated to Australia to work in the mining industry. He was appalled by the discrimination he witnessed against Aboriginal Australians.
O’Dea moved to New Zealand in 1957. He worked in northern Waikato on construction of the Meremere power station. He again saw injustice. He supported trade unions and joined the Communist Party.
Life’s Work
In 1959, the lounge bar of Papakura Hotel in South Auckland refused to serve Dr. Henry Bennett, New Zealand’s first Māori psychiatrist. O’Dea was horrified by this blatant racism, though it was not uncommon, and was spurred to activism.
Among the most significant events in New Zealand Māori activism were the 1975 Land March and the Takaparawhau/Bastion Point land occupation. Dame Whina Cooper organized the hikoi, or protest march, which began on September 14, 1975. About fifty Māori protesters began the march at Northland, but as the group walked, the numbers swelled to about two thousand. The demonstrators arrived on the steps of Parliament in Wellington on October 13 at two o’clock in the afternoon. The hikoi was the culmination of protests against the Crown taking Māori land. It was called Te Roopu Ote Matakite, meaning “Those with Foresight.” O’Dea quit his job to be a volunteer bus driver for the Land March to Parliament.
O’Dea’s friend, Joseph Hawke, was among the protesters. Hawke and other members of the Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei people continued to demonstrate for land rights. In January 1977 they began an occupation of their ancestral land on the Auckland waterfront. The land in question had been given to or taken by the Crown in 1885 for defense purposes when the country feared Russian invasion. Though no such invasion occurred, the government did not relinquish the land. In 1976, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon announced that the land would be sold for luxury housing. Hawke responded by organizing the occupation, which continued for 506 days. O’Dea lived nearby and was a participant. Occupiers built homes and a meeting house and grew crops. Then on May 25, 1978, the government sent eight hundred police and military personnel to clear out the protesters. More than two hundred, including O’Dea, were arrested and all they had built or grown was destroyed. About a decade later, the government agreed to return the land to Ngāti Whātua.
O’Dea was involved in a long list of demonstrations in support of workers, minorities, and the poor and powerless. During the 1960s and 1970s, he protested the Vietnam War. He was arrested at various land protests. He and others faced down US warships in Auckland harbor in a small dinghy.
In 2012 O’Dea was one of about one hundred protesters demonstrating against a redevelopment project when about fifty police officers arrived. O’Dea was knocked unconscious and hospitalized. He was seventy-six years old. Later he crawled under a truck to prevent it from moving. This took place during a protest of Housing New Zealand redevelopment that would see properties charging higher rent and fewer low-income properties available. Auckland Council had previously promised that tenants would not be relocated, and protesters demanded this promise be kept. Many of the residents were elderly and in poor health. The truck that O’Dea and others stopped was being used to remove houses in Glen Innes. This work often happened at night, but demonstrators were undeterred. Some climbed on the roofs of houses that were being hauled away. O’Dea was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was in poor health for some time and died at the age of eighty-six on November 27, 2021.
Impact
O’Dea was a champion of workers, Indigenous people, and the poor. He took up causes when he saw injustice in society and refused to back down. Many people said they were inspired by his commitment and tenacity. Some of his children joined him at protests as did his neighbors. The Māori communities recognized in him an ally and welcomed O’Dea. At his memorial service, many friends and relatives spoke about his commitment to fighting for social justice.
Personal Life
O’Dea married Katherine Cummings in 1958. They had three sons. He remarried in the 1980s and with his second wife, Sonya, had two more sons.
Bibliography
Alexandre, Jean. “Veteran Activist from the Land March to Ihum Atao.” The Timaru Herald, 4 Dec. 2021, www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-timaru-herald/20211204/281930251265403. Accessed 26 June 2023.
Barton, Chris. “The Battle of Glen Innes.” Metro, 1 Dec. 2014, www.metromag.co.nz/city-life/city-life-property/the-battle-of-glen-innes. Accessed 26 June 2023.
“Elderly Protester Knocked Out During Confrontation with Police.” New Zealand Herald, 11 May 2012, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/elderly-protester-knocked-out-during-confrontation-with-police/II437B4MD42LYAKL4FH6RUCQPU/. Accessed 26 June 2023.
Fala, Tony. “James ‘Jimmy’ O’Dea: How He Upheld Te Tino Rangatiratanga and Many Other Key Causes.” Asia Pacific Report, 9 Dec. 2021, asiapacificreport.nz/2021/12/09/james-jimmy-odea-how-he-upheld-te-tino-rangatiratanga-and-many-other-key-causes/. Accessed 26 June 2023.
Lauaki, Esther. “Glenn Innes Protesters Halt Property Work.” Stuff, 11 Apr. 2012, www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/east-bays-courier/6698128/Glenn-Innes-protesters-halt-property-work. Accessed 26 June 2023.
Minto, John. “Obituary: Jimmy O’Dea, Veteran Activist from the Land March to Ihumātaeo.” Stuff, 4 Dec. 2021, www.stuff.co.nz/national/127175371/obituary-jimmy-odea-veteran-activist-from-the-land-march-to-ihumtao. Accessed 26 June 2023.
“The 1977 Bastion Point Occupation: What Happened?” 1 News, 24 May 2022, www.1news.co.nz/2022/05/24/the-1977-bastion-point-occupation-what-happened/. Accessed 26 June 2023.