04/07/2025
We share the great sadness of the loss of Dr Hilary Stace . We will uphold her mana and things she got involved in. And yes this will be shock to families and disabled people and autistic people. Remember it’s ok to grief and that there’s a process no matter what yours look like. Reaching out to follow disabled people and parents/carers if you need to talk to someone .
But please remember to give Oscar and Serena (Hilary’s adult children) and the rest of her whanau time to grief , they will be ready when they will be ready .
At this stage she will be cremated and a memorial service will be hold later down the track .
In memory of Dr Hilary Stace.
Hilary Stace passed away at Wellington Hospital on Thursday 3 July 2025.
Hilary was a friend to many in the Autistic and Autism community. She was a mother to an Autistic son and had first hand experience of the challenges parents faced in complex systems that had to be navigated in Health and Education and advocated hard for them. She engaged with and valued lived experience of Autism.
Hilary spoke openly against parent blaming when it came to Autism and was a former Board Member for Autism New Zealand.
Hilary’s love of history helped us mark out our own history here at Autism NZ and it is proudly displayed on the walls of our National Office at the Autism Resource Centre in Petone.
Hilary worked at the Alexander Turnbull Library in 1970s and later for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. She completed a PhD in public policy at Victoria University of Wellington in 2011 with a thesis on autism titled “Moving beyond love and luck building right relationships and respecting lived experience in New Zealand Autism Policy.”
Hilary gave lectures on Autism history at Victoria University and advocated for disability rights. She gave a compelling statement to the Royal Commission of Inquiry to Abuse in State Care and Faith Based Institutions. She was a well-known historian and researcher whose loss will be keenly felt by her family, friends, colleagues and the wider disability and research communities.
We understand that this may come as a shock and be upsetting for those who knew Hilary and/or were familiar with her amazing mahi. Please reach out if you feel in need of support. You can connect with others in the autism community on our autism connect platform: https://autismnz.org.nz/autism-connect-app/ , our outreach services: https://autismnz.org.nz/contact/, or call your preferred mental health support line: https://mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines.
