Her contribution to society stretched beyond Rotorua.
From 1979 to 1982 she was a member of the-then Film Censorship Board of Review.
It was not a position for the faint-hearted but it was one open-minded Una took in her stride, later commenting there was nothing on this Earth that could surprise her or that she couldn’t understand what the fuss was about when others found something they considered “not quite nice”.
In the 1980s she spent three years as a lay member of the Hamilton District Law Disciplinary Tribunal.
It was a period when a number of practitioners from this region were hauled before it.
One later told me he’d quaked in his boots when he saw Una was one of those sitting in judgment on him. However, he claimed her to be a wise head and the epitome of fair-mindedness despite the tribunal finding against him.
To enumerate the number of local committees Una belonged to would require an A-Z of them.
The list included Red Cross, Riding For The Disabled and the Rotorua Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Committee which was active in the late 1970s into the mid-1980s.
Una received the 1990 Commemorative Medal in recognition of her commitment to Rotorua, its charitable organisations and the community over many years. She was an avid reader, belonged to a U3A book group and was a long-time member of the National Party.
Born Una Picot in Wellington on July 24, 1927, she was educated at Marsden School, Wellington and Nga Tawa Diocesan School, Marton.
At 14 she went to live in India where her father, Frank Picot, was the New Zealand representative of the Eastern Group Supply Council - a wartime body set up to develop supplies to the then Empire countries east of Suez. The family later transferred to Melbourne.
Returning home, Una resumed her education as a boarder at Nga Tawa. She became the school’s athletics and tennis champion, captained the netball team, played lacrosse and hockey for the school and achieved University Entrance.
She married Rotorua businessman the late Doug (Bandy) Ewert in 1947.
Initially, they lived in Auckland but returned to his roots to open a dairy.
From then on Una threw her heart and soul into her new hometown while raising three children; son Robert who died when he was 9, and daughters Linda and Rebecca.
Rebecca Ewert reflected on her mother as a woman devoted to her family as well as her community.
“She was kind and generous, she cared for people. I think she was an early feminist. She believed fundamentally in education.
“I recall her saying several times ‘you are going to get your University Entrance even if you stay at school 100 years’.
“We were brought up knowing we would go to university. The question for us was what were we going to do there?”
Rebecca studied law, Linda social sciences.
Bay of Plenty regional councillor Lyall Thurston said he was honoured to call Una a dear, lifelong friend. Her death was a sad loss for Rotorua.
He described her as a forthright person, politically astute, compassionate and generous.
“She was a secret benefactor to many,” Thurston said. “There are a lot of people in this community who would not be where they are now had it not been for her generosity. Una was always there behind the scenes supporting them in like and kind.”
He highlighted her love of animals, in particular dogs.
“She gave a home to many abandoned dogs or ones owners could no longer look after. She was very compassionate in that area.”
Those wanting to commemorate Una are being invited to make a donation to the RNZSPCA.
Her funeral service is to be held at St Luke’s Church, Rotorua, at 1pm on Friday..
She is survived by her two daughters, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
About Una
Name: Una Mavis Ewert, nee Picot
Born: July 24, 1927, died December 22, 2022
Family: Parents Mavis Mary Frances Picot and Francis (Frank) Raymond Picot, brother Brian, married Douglas John Ewert in 1947 he died in 1978, three children Robert (deceased), Linda and Rebecca, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Education: Marsden School (Wellington) until age 10, Nga Tawa Diocesan School (Marton) until World War II when the family moved to Delhi and then Australia before returning for her final two school years at Nga Tawa.
Jill Nicholas is a long-time friend of Una Ewert.
