Aubert, Mary Joseph (1835–1926)

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Aubert, Mary Joseph (1835–1926)

New Zealand nun, nurse, herbalist, teacher, social worker, writer, and religious order founder. Name variations: Marie Henriette Suzanne Aubert, Suzanne Aubert. Born Marie Henriette Suzanne Aubert, June 19, 1835, in Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay, Loire, France; died Oct 1, 1926, in Wellington, New Zealand; dau. of Louis Aubert (bailiff) and Henriette Catherine Clarice (Périer) Aubert.

Immigrated to New Zealand (1860); became novice of Sisters of Mary (1861); taught Maori girls in Auckland (1860–69); performed teaching and nursing missionary work among the Maori (1870s); published Maori language catechism in 1879, and Maori grammar (1885); became interested in native herbal remedies and marketed them (1890s); performed social work among urban poor throughout early 1900s, establishing various institutions, including soup kitchen, day nursery, and home for incurables; founded Sisters of Compassion to respond to numerous local needs (1917); became national figure for more than six decades of work.

See also Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Vol. 2).

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