Dawson, Mary Elizabeth (1833–1924)

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Dawson, Mary Elizabeth (1833–1924)

New Zealand social leader and landowner. Name variations: Mary Elizabeth Prebble. Born Mary Elizabeth Prebble, 1833, in Mersham, Kent, England; died Feb 22, 1924, at Waterton, New Zealand; dau. of James (carpenter) and Ann Maria (Gurr) Prebble; m. Andrew Dawson, 1852; children: 12.

Immigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, with family (1840); converted 1,460 acres of swamp into arable and successful farm by draining and stabilizing it with trees (1870s); served as nurse to Waterton community.

See also Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Vol. 1).

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