Photo Recall: Woman who fought flames of prejudice

Photo / NZ Herald, Photo Researcher / Emma Walter

Thirty years ago, Anne Barry qualified as the first female firefighter in the Commonwealth. But most of the hard work happened before she was allowed to don a firefighter's uniform.

New Zealand's first woman firefighter Annie Barry well remembers lugging heavy hoses, sweating kilos off during exercises and enduring dangerous training situations that would never be allowed today.

It was Barry who broke through the smoke barrier in 1981 by becoming the first woman in the Commonwealth to graduate as a firefighter.

But it took three years of persistence and appeals to the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Human Rights Commission and members of Parliament before she was accepted for the recruitment course.

After that Barry punished her small frame, determined to perform quicker and better than her male colleagues. She delighted in being able to squeeze through small, difficult spaces. It was a time she still looks back on as "fabulous".

She spent the first three years trying to prove herself, putting up with teasing and nicknames like "Granny Annie" (she was 29, the cut-off age for recruits back then) and "Blob the Builder". After that she relaxed and just got on with the job.

Barry, now 59, hung up her helmet in 1996 and since then has travelled, written and talked. She wrote her first book, Playing With Fire, about the difficult, dangerous and hilarious moments of being a firefighter.

She and husband John, a former firefighter, took up golf, converted a Japanese bus into a camper van and spent 2 1/2 years touring New Zealand. They then shipped their mobile home across the Tasman and spent 10 years touring Australia.

Along the way she wrote 38 stories about life on the road, published in a book called Never Say Old.

Since selling their home on wheels in Western Australia, they've been professional house-sitters, either in Wairarapa or in Australia, keeping a small car in both countries.

The couple, who have been married for 39 years, travel light. Barry says they can pack their belongings in "four plastic buckets", plus a set of golf clubs each.

Tomorrow they leave New Zealand to house-sit in Australia for three months.

Barry, who admits to being a great talker, returns to New Zealand in October for a round of speaking engagements.

Barry has no idea where she and her husband will settle. They both like Wairarapa, but husband John finds the Sunshine Coast's warmer climate "better for aching bones".

In the meantime more golf, bridge, exercise, travel and good wine are all that are planned in the Barry's immediate future.