Elizabeth Cox (historian)

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Elizabeth Cox
Cox in 2025
Born
Elizabeth Cox
Academic background
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
Academic work
DisciplineHistorian
Sub-discipline
  • Architectural history
  • women's history
InstitutionsBay Heritage Consultants
Websitehttps://bayheritage.co.nz/

Elizabeth Cox is a New Zealand historian who specialises in architectural and women's history. She is a heritage consultant and was a senior historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Education

Cox studied New Zealand history at Victoria University of Wellington, completing an MA.[1]

Career

Cox has previously worked at the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, at the National Trust in the UK, and as a historian for the Waitangi Tribunal.[1] She was also a senior historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and runs a consultancy business exploring the history of New Zealand's heritage buildings.[2][3] Her book A Friend Indeed: The Saving of Old St Paul's, about the battle to save Old St Paul's Church in Wellington, was published in 2018.[3]

Cox was the editor of the 2022 publication Making Space: a history of New Zealand women in architecture, which contained contributions from 30 women architects, architectural historians and academics. The publication is considered to be a valuable contribution to the recording and honouring of women practicing architecture in New Zealand.[4] In 2023, she received a New Zealand Institute of Architects President's Award.[5] In 2025 she published Mr Ward's Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street, a history of Wellington in the 1890s.[6][7] This book won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Illustrated Non-Fiction in 2026. The judges said of the book covers a "range of complex issues and histories that have universal reach".[8]

Cox is also a trustee of the Futuna Chapel in Wellington.[1][2]

Selected publications

  • — (2025). Mr Ward's Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street. Massey University Press. ISBN 9781991309068.
  • —, ed. (2022). Making Space : a history of New Zealand women in architecture. Auckland, NZ: Massey University Press. ISBN 9781991016348.
  • — (2018). A friend indeed : the saving of Old St Paul's. Wellington, NZ: The Friends of Old St Paul's Society. ISBN 9780473397722.
  • Cochran, Christopher; Russell, Murray; Kelly, Michael & — (2016). Old St Paul's, 34 Mulgrave Street, Wellington, conservation plan : report prepared by Cochran and Murray Conservation Architects. Wellington, NZ: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. ISBN 9781877563270.

References

  1. "CITY TALKS: Make room for Herstory". New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora. New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  2. "Elizabeth Cox". Massey University Press - Authors. Massey University Press. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  3. Dennett, Kelly (15 October 2022). "How early female architects, often overlooked, helped shape Kiwi buildings". Stuff. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  4. Waghorn, Kathy (9 December 2022). "Review: Making Space: A history of New Zealand Women in Architecture". ArchitectureNow. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  5. "2023 President's Awards". New Zealand Institute of Architects. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. "'Could this be New Zealand's greatest map?',". Radio New Zealand. 2025. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025.
  7. White, Rebekah (2025). "'The man who drew Wellington'". New Zealand Geographic. 196: 64–73.
  8. "Winners | New Zealand Book Awards Trust". www.nzbookawards.nz. Retrieved 20 May 2026.