Edith Statham

{{Short description|New Zealand singer, nurse, secretary, war graves conservator, community worker}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Edith Statham

| birth_name = Edith Mary Staham

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1853|04|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bootle, Lancashire, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1951|02|13|1853|04|13|df=y}}

| death_place = Saint Heliers, Auckland, New Zealand

| occupation = War graves inspector

| parents = William Statham
Ellen Allen Hadfield

}}

Edith Mary Statham (13 April 1853 – 13 February 1951) was a notable New Zealand singer, nurse, secretary, war graves conservator and community worker.

Early life

Statham was born in Bootle, Lancashire, England, on 13 April 1853.{{DNZB|title=Edith Mary Statham|first= Jock|last= Phillips|id=3s32|accessdate=23 April 2017}} She was a daughter of a solicitor, William Statham, and his wife, Ellen Allen Statham. When she was 10 years old, she moved to New Zealand with her family.

Education

It is unknown how and where Statham got her education. She was trained as a singer and nurse at Dunedin Hospital.

Activities

Statham was a founding member of the "Society for the Protection of Women and Children" in Dunedin.{{Cite book|title=Women Together: A History of Women's Organisations in New Zealand : Ngā Rōpū Wāhine O Te Motu|last=New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. Historical Branch|publisher=Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs|year=1993|isbn=0908896298|location=|pages=419}} She was a secretary of the "Mimiro Ladies' Cycling Club", which she established around 1895, when she moved to Dunedin. Statham directed a school for many years to teach women how to cycle. She was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935.{{cite news | url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19350506.2.12 | title=Official jubilee medals | date=6 May 1935 | volume=CXIX | issue=105 | newspaper=The Evening Post | accessdate=5 July 2019 | page=4}}

References