Annie Chemis, 1862–1939
Annie Dowd, from County Kerry in Ireland, came to New Zealand aged 16 in 1878 as an assisted migrant. She married Louis Chemis, an Italian labourer, and when he was accused of murder she fought to defend his innocence. After his suicide she became a charwoman at Parliament.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Caroline Cadette Howard, 1821–?
Born in England, Caroline Alpenny (as she then was) went to Ireland in the 1850s before coming out to Dunedin as a shipboard matron. In Otago she established a servants’ registry office to link servants with employers. Returning to England, Caroline Howard was given a job as an immigration agent in 1873. She proceeded to organise the migration to New Zealand of single Irish women, some recruited from a workhouse in Cork. The subsequent controversy, sparked by anti-Irish feelings, cost Caroline Howard her job.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Thomas Lambert, 1854–1944
Thomas Lambert trained in classics and medicine in Dublin, and came to New Zealand with his father, an Anglican clergyman, in 1875. Settling in Wairoa he worked as a chemist and a doctor before becoming a journalist. He worked tirelessly for the district and was also the author of several important local histories.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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John Alexander McCullough, 1860–1947
Born in Belfast to a unionist and Orange background, Jack McCullough came to New Zealand in 1880. He worked as a tinsmith in the railways workshops, and joined the union. He rose in the union movement and eventually became the workers’ representative on the Court of Arbitration from 1907 to 1921.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Mary Josephine Player, 1857/1858?–1924
From County Kilkenny, Mary Crampton came to New Zealand on an assisted passage in 1874. She married Edward Player, had seven children and worked as a midwife. In 1894 she founded the Women’s Social and Political League to work for improved conditions for women. She was especially concerned with the condition of domestic servants.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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George Vesey Stewart, 1832?–1920
Although born in England, George Vesey Stewart was a landowner in County Tyrone, northern Ireland. He came to New Zealand in 1873 and proceeded to organise two settlements of Ulster migrants at Katikati and Te Puke. In all he is credited with bringing 4,000 people to New Zealand.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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