Mrs. Heraldine Rock, née Gajadhar, was born in Forestierre on July 28, 1933. She received her elementary and secondary education at the Forestierre School and St. Joseph’s Convent, respectively. At the Convent, she was a member of the Red Cross. After secondary school, she taught briefly before resigning at age 28 to become a farmer.
Mrs. Rock was actively involved in numerous organizations, including the Girl Guides Movement, where she served as Captain of the No. 11 Girl Guides Company. She was also involved with the St. Lucia Women’s Association, the Banana Growers’ Association as the public relations officer, and Secretary of the Forestierre Branch of the Association. Additionally, she founded the Young People’s Club of Forestierre.
In 1964, Mrs. Rock became the first woman to play an active role in Saint Lucian politics by contesting the South Castries seat against George Charles of the SLP and Swithin Schouten of the Schouten Group. In this three-way race, George Charles won with 935 votes, Mrs. Rock came a close second with 812 votes, and Schouten lost his deposit with 191 votes. Later that year she recorded another first, the first woman to win a seat on the Castries Town Council
She ran again in the 1974 general elections and succeeded against George Odlum, making history as the first woman elected to Parliament and the first woman to become a government minister in Saint Lucia. She was sworn in as the Minister of Housing, Community Development, Local Government, and Social Affairs. In this role, she championed women’s rights and community development, creating a Women’s Department and a Ministry of Women’s Affairs. She served as a Parliamentarian until 1979. She was also elected as the first vice president of the UWP.
Mrs. Rock chose not to contest the 1982 general elections after the demise of the SLP but was appointed a Senator in the UWP-led government, a position she held until 1987. In recognition of her contributions, a government building on the Castries Waterfront was named in her honour.
She was also a member of several boards, including the St. Lucia Electricity Services and the Development Control Authority.
To sum up, Mrs. Rock was a political pioneer who broke barriers, and dedicated herself to empowering women. She served her community with distinction and, although she never had children of her own, had adopted nine by the age of thirty.
