Before we begin, let me introduce a woman whose life reads like a tapestry woven from courage, compassion, and quiet revolution. Jacquie Grant ONZM is a beloved New Zealand figure, part local legend, part national treasure. Born in 1944 in Victoria, Australia, Jacquie found herself navigating the world on her own by the age of 13, after leaving home and seeking shelter and survival in Sydney’s Kings Cross. As a young transgender woman, she later crossed the Tasman Sea in search of safety and belonging, settling in Aotearoa, where she would make her most enduring mark. Jacquie’s life in New Zealand blossomed into a journey of tireless community service. She served two terms on the Grey District Council, became chair of Enterprise Hokitika, and played vital roles on the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the West Coast’s Benefit Review Committee.
She also helped found the Chrissy Witoko Memorial Trust, honouring another trans icon. But Jacquie’s heart may shine brightest in the quietest of her acts: she has fostered over 75 young people, offering love and stability to those in need. She also opened Hokitika’s Sock World, a whimsical museum housing more than 100 antique knitting machines, including one from 1803, a tribute to craft, history, and resilience. Twice honoured by the New Zealand government, first as a Member and later as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Jacquie has never shied away from standing up against hate, even when targeted herself. Her grace in the face of adversity, and her generosity of spirit, continue to inspire across generations. Today, I have the honour of speaking with this remarkable woman, whose strength and softness have helped shape a kinder world. Welcome, Jacquie.
Today, I have the great pleasure and honor of interviewing Jacquie Grant ONZM, a proud naturalized New Zealander and a woman of extraordinary resilience and versatility. Her life has included chapters as a sex worker, merchant sailor, drag club owner, restaurateur, dairy farmer, small zoo operator, district councillor, devoted foster mother to over 75 young people, and owner of a sock knitting machine museum. Jacquie, your journey is nothing short of remarkable. Welcome!
Jacquie: Hello, Monika! What a lovely introduction, and you, my dear, are such a beautiful soul. It’s a real delight to hear from you and to read the inspiring stories of our sisters from around the world. Thank you for including me in this chorus of courageous voices.
Monika: Your life reads like the beginning of a powerful film. What led you to make the life-altering decision to leave Australia in the 1960s? Was it fear, hope, or a mix of both that pushed you toward New Zealand?
Jacquie: Yes, I, along with some friends, left our birth country, Australia, to escape the oppressive political regime that excluded trans and gay people from the legal system and went out of its way to harass and victimize anyone who was different by birth. In post-war Australia, it was illegal for a “male” person to dress as the opposite sex, except under strictly controlled circumstances, for example, on private property or for performers in clubs, provided they changed back immediately after performing. The government’s control over our identities felt suffocating. We were forced to either hide who we were or risk everything just to be ourselves.
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| At 15 years mug shot. |
Monika: What options were left for someone like you who came out so young and didn’t have access to performance venues or private spaces?
Jacquie: The only option for those of us with little talent as performers and a compelling need to express who we truly were was to fall back on street work, something incredibly dangerous, especially for those who, like me, came out so early. It was 1958, I was just 14 years old, and I suffered from what is now known as ADHD. After being imprisoned several times, a group of us eventually made the move to New Zealand, where the laws were far kinder to trans people and gave us the freedom we craved. That decision saved my life. In New Zealand, for the first time, I felt like I could breathe.
Monika: After arriving in New Zealand, you seemed to reinvent yourself in remarkable ways, from running a pet shop to founding drag clubs, and even joining the merchant navy. How did these varied experiences shape your identity and your journey toward transition?
Jacquie: Yes, that is correct. The pet shop came first, then restaurants and nightclubs. I did perform a little myself but soon found that I was better suited to the role of manager or being the person in charge. I was responsible for starting New Zealand’s most famous drag club, Mojo’s, in Auckland. I gave all that up in 1970 and began my journey toward having surgery. Managing venues allowed me to build community and offer opportunities to others like me. But eventually, I realized that personal fulfillment meant focusing on my own transformation.
Monika: What led you to step away from that vibrant nightlife and choose a path at sea, and how did it influence your next chapter?
Jacquie: To be totally sure about my decision, I spent several years dressed as male and went to sea, where I honed my cookery skills and eventually paid off the ships as a chief cook. Around 1973, I moved to Christchurch in the South Island and opened a restaurant and two burger bars. At that point, I gradually returned to living as my true self, eventually undergoing surgery in 1975, at 31 years of age. The discipline and isolation of life at sea gave me clarity. By the time I stepped back on land, I knew exactly who I was and what I needed to do.
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| Jacquie and her first partner Lez, 1973. |
Monika: Can you share how your relationship with your husband shaped your journey into fostering children?
Jacquie: Bill was my second partner, whom I met not long after the death of my first love in 1982. Bill and I were together until he passed in 2000. With him, I got my white picket fence and a totally normal lifestyle. We were dairy farmers, a farm we later subdivided and built the zoo on a small part that was left.
I became a foster parent by accident, I would need chapters to recount that story. I guess I had always wanted children and vowed I would never let the big bad world treat my children as badly as I had been treated as a child.
Bill supported me wholeheartedly, and together we created a home full of love, acceptance, and curiosity. Fostering gave my life even deeper meaning, and every child taught me something new.
Monika: How did the fostering system respond to you, and how did those children become part of your extended family?
Jacquie: It was a huge battle convincing the authorities to appoint me as a legally approved foster parent, but somehow, through tenacity and a little luck, I was finally approved around 1982 after I had been informally fostering for some years. There were many children, some stayed a few weeks, some a few years, and others their whole childhoods.
In fact, one is still with me at 30. Grandchildren? Well, in what I call my immediate family, the kids I had long-term, there are about 36, and goodness knows how many from all the kids I fostered.
It fills me with joy when one of them introduces me to their own children and says I made a difference. No matter how many years pass, they never stop being “my kids” in my heart.
Monika: In 1998, you received the Order of Merit for your incredible contributions. Can you take us back to that moment? What did it mean to you personally, and how did your community respond to such recognition?
Jacquie: I was awarded the Medal for fostering and service to the zoo industry, mainly in Kiwi recovery, Kiwi being New Zealand’s iconic flightless bird, and for running programs for behaviorally challenged pre-teens. I was humbled, but always in the back of my mind was the thought: this is one for our community. I think I was the first TS person to receive a royal honor in the world. In addition, I served as a Lay Judge on the New Zealand Human Rights Review Tribunal for three terms, nine years total, a role which saw me picked several times to sit as a Judge in the New Zealand High Court. I sat on several landmark cases which resulted in case law. I retired from that role two years ago. It was an extraordinary experience that allowed me to bring a unique perspective to justice. Looking back, I’m proud to have helped pave the way for more diverse representation in official roles.
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| Jacquie and Miss Chloe. |
Monika: You also founded the Moana Zoo and Wildlife Park at Lake Brunner on the South Island’s West Coast, an incredible sanctuary for endangered animals. What inspired you to combine this space with educational programs for children facing behavioral challenges, and what impact did it have on the young participants?
Jacquie: The zoo was the perfect environment for running those programs. We catered to 11- to 13-year-olds who had challenging behaviors in a residential setting, one week at a time. The participants were limited to 10 children, boys and girls, and the Kaupapa (Māori for philosophy) was centered on natural foods, looking after animals, and learning to bond and support one another. I think the success was because I was so different; the kids saw in me a kindred spirit, if that makes any sense. The program ran for several years on a biweekly basis and was incredibly successful. It was heartening to see how the environment helped transform attitudes and build trust. Many of the children went on to thrive in school and reconnect positively with their families.
Monika: Looking back at your own journey through the 1960s and 70s, a time of immense struggle for transgender women, how do you view the experiences and identities of transgender women today? Do you feel a connection to the current generation, or has the landscape changed too much?
Jacquie: To be honest, these days I can hardly relate to today’s TG women. A lot of them claim they are lesbian and transition so late in life. I think I see the majority of this new wave as having lived a lie and not being true to themselves. I can’t help thinking I would rather have died than be forced to live a lie as a male; prison and all the hardship was a small price to pay. My life was shaped by extreme circumstances, and I made my choices early and with conviction. That said, I understand that everyone's path is different, and the courage to transition, no matter when, still deserves recognition.
Monika: When you were beginning your transition, did you have anyone to look up to, any transgender women who gave you hope or showed you what might be possible? Who helped light the way for you in those early days?
Jacquie: Yes, I did. I guess Christine Jorgensen was my first role model. There were also many in Sydney who transitioned before me, and of course, my peers were my role models too, and still are. We learned from each other, shared our struggles, and celebrated our small victories. It was a time when visibility was rare, so each person who stepped forward became a beacon for the rest of us.
Monika: Coming out is often described as one of the most difficult parts of a transgender person’s journey. Was there anything that made that moment especially challenging for you, or did you feel a strong sense of clarity and resolve from the start?
Jacquie: Nothing at all. I knew what I was and left my adoptive parents at 13. I never went back, they were not nice people, so I had no difficulty in coming out or walking away. For me, the hardest part wasn’t the coming out, it was surviving afterward. But even then, I felt empowered by my decision and never looked back.
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| Some of the family. |
Monika: Do you think the fight for transgender rights represents the next major chapter in the global human rights movement? How do you see trans identities being understood, or misunderstood, within that larger conversation?
Jacquie: I guess that depends on what country one is from. This is not a good question for me, as I understand the transsexual, both pre- and post-op, far better than I understand all the gobbledygook of the transgender continuum. The language and categories have shifted so much over time that I sometimes struggle to relate. Still, I believe everyone deserves dignity, safety, and the freedom to live authentically, regardless of how they identify.
Monika: Have you been personally involved in political life, and how do you view the role of transgender women in shaping political change today? Do you believe visibility in public office can lead to meaningful progress for our communities?
Jacquie: I am active in politics. I was elected to the Grey District Council for three terms as an open and out TS. I recently stood for the mayoralty here in Westland, unfortunately, I was not successful, missing out by just 100 votes. I follow politics intensely, and while I was once far-left leaning, I now find myself practicing centrist politics. Politics has taught me how much representation truly matters. Even when we don’t win, showing up and being visible changes perceptions and breaks barriers.
Monika: Love often shapes our lives in profound ways, sometimes as a source of strength, sometimes as a lesson. How has love influenced your journey, and what does it mean to you today?
Jacquie: Love, I love my children, I love my friends, all with a passion. I loved both my partners deeply, but in totally different ways. These days, I just love myself. That kind of self-love took years to build and has become the most grounding force in my life. Loving others taught me empathy, but learning to love myself gave me peace.
Monika: Many transgender women choose to write memoirs as a way to preserve their stories and inspire others. Have you ever considered putting your life experiences into a book, and if so, how far along are you?
Jacquie: The inevitable tranny book, I must admit, yes, I have done it well. I have documented up to 1980 and filled around 1,000 pages. I will carry on; maybe one day, when I retire, which I plan to do in ten years’ time at 80, I’ll finish it. There’s still so much life to live and reflect on before the final chapter gets written. I hope that when it's done, it will serve as both a record of survival and a celebration of resilience.
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| One of the machines Jacquie makes. |
Monika: You founded a Knitting Machine Museum, an unexpected and fascinating venture! What inspired this passion for textile machinery, and how did it evolve into a larger business?
Jacquie: The museum is just one small part of the business and consists of a collection of vintage sock machines, which is housed in my retail sock shop called Sockworld, situated in the town of Hokitika.
The premises also house a small spinning mill, where we specialize in producing Possum Merino and Merino yarns for the export market. The business also manufactures hand-crank sock machines for the hobby market, and we export these worldwide.
I enjoy this aspect, as I am involved in the design of the machines and get a lot of trips to the USA visiting customers and teaching knitters.
It’s incredibly rewarding to see people become passionate about a craft that’s both historic and innovative. What started as a niche interest has grown into a thriving global enterprise.
Monika: What exciting new projects are you currently focusing on? Are there any innovations or ventures that you’re particularly passionate about right now?
Jacquie: I have just sold my motels and motorhome park and am currently working on a new project, designing a cone winding machine, once again for the hobby knitting market. I am also establishing a yarn distributorship in North America. These projects keep me energized and connected to the industry I love. It’s fulfilling to keep creating and expanding, especially in a field that combines both tradition and innovation.
Monika: For transgender girls struggling with gender dysphoria and the challenges of self-acceptance, what advice would you give to help them find confidence and strength on their journey?
Jacquie: Be true to yourselves. Do not try to please partners, families, or employers, just be true to yourselves. Remember, we are often more intelligent than the norm and can do anything we set out to do. Self-acceptance is the foundation for happiness, and it gives you the power to overcome obstacles. Trust in your inner strength, because your authenticity is your greatest gift.
Monika: Jacquie, thank you for the interview!
All the photos: courtesy of Jacquie Grant.
© 2014 - Monika Kowalska
