Annette Paul was one of a small number of educated women who were influential in the fledgeling Salvation Army in New Zealand. Born in Auckland on 4 November 1863, she was the daughter of Annette McKellar and her…
Search
Elizabeth Ormiston was born in Scotland, probably in Sutherland between 1842 and 1847, the daughter of Mary McKenzie and Walter Ormiston, a shepherd. She married Robert Mackay, a shepherd, at Dalharald, Strathnaver,…
Mary Ann Edington was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 18 June 1897, the daughter of Edward Edington, a packing box maker, and his wife, Mary Ann Rogers. She gained a BA degree and her mathematical skills gained her a…
Images and media for 'first woman' in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB)
See 155 results in Te Ara Images & Media
See 155 results in Te Ara Images & Media
June Margaret Allen was born on 13 March 1926 in New Plymouth, the daughter of Nellie May Bendall and her husband, Arthur Squire Allen, a company secretary who was later a nurseryman. Leaving New Plymouth Girls’ High…
As editor of the New Zealand Woman’s Weeklyfor 32 years, Jean Wishart became a virtual friend to thousands of New Zealand women who warmly responded to her editorials. The magazine absorbed all her working life of 47…
Annie Elizabeth Gordon was born at Timaru, New Zealand, on 20 July 1873, the daughter of Anna Eglington and her husband, George Granville Sutherland Gordon, a boatman. When Annie was two her father was accidentally…
Mabel Annie Fielding was born on 1 July 1902 at Pleasant Point, Canterbury, the youngest of the seven children of Frederick Fielding, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Davis, both immigrants from Britain. After Frederick was…
Anna Holmes Northcroft, known as Nancy, was born in Hamilton on 23 March 1913, the second daughter of Violet Constance Mitchell and her husband, Erima Harvey Northcroft, a barrister. He was later a distinguished Supreme…
Kathrine McAllister Stewart was born at Manchester, England, on 13 May 1895, the eldest of three children of Andrew Stewart, a commercial traveller, and his wife, Jane Vallance Davidson. When Rena, as she was known, was…
Margaret Fraser, better known as Maggie, was born at Ordhead, near Inveravon, Banffshire, Scotland, on 11 December 1866. She was the youngest of six children of Margaret Spence and her husband, John Fraser, a master…
Caroline Ada Insull was born in Birmingham, England, on 18 February 1874, the eldest daughter of Sarah Caroline King and her husband, Walter Horace Insull. At the time of her birth her father was described as an artist…
Elsie Hamer Fielden was born on 20 December 1922 at Waihou, near Te Aroha, Waikato, the only child of Nora Hamer and her husband, Alfred James Fielden, a decorator. In her early years the family moved to Whakatane,…
Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan was New Zealand’s first Māori woman cabinet minister, its longest-serving woman MP, and a staunch advocate in Parliament for Māori interests. An accomplished academic, social worker, designer,…
Elsie Locke was a writer, environmentalist, historian, peace activist, one-time communist, and a battler for women’s rights. She is best known as a writer for children, though her writing encompassed adult non-fiction,…
Violet Alberta (Berta) Jessie Watson, one of the first women to achieve high office in the New Zealand National Party, was born in Winchester, South Canterbury, on 12 March 1893, the first of two children of Agnes…
Zillah Smith Billany was born at Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, on 29 May 1859. Her parents were Charlotte Ann Clevelin and her husband, Neiles Boynton Billany, a shipwright. Nothing is known of Zillah Billany'…
Elsie Euphemia Andrews was born on a small farm at Huirangi, Taranaki, on 23 December 1888. She was the youngest of twelve children, two of whom died in childhood. Her parents, John Andrews and his wife, Emily Young,…
Rona Marjory Hamilton was born in Gisborne on 2 October 1897, one of six children of Frederick Orton Hamilton, a commission agent for a hardware merchant, and his wife, Isabelle Porter. Her maternal grandparents were…
Pearl Howard Dawson was a leading figure in the formative years of women’s team sports in New Zealand, particularly hockey, both as a player and administrator. She sought to raise the status of women’s sport by…
Adelaide Martens was born in London, England, on 6 March 1845, the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Joyner and her husband, George Martens, a sugar baker. Nothing is known of her early life. She is believed to have arrived in…