Halcombe, Edith Stanway (1844–1903)

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Halcombe, Edith Stanway (1844–1903)

New Zealand painter, community leader, and farmer. Name variations: Edith Stanway Swainson. Born Edith Stanway Swainson, on April 27, 1844, in Wellington, New Zealand; died c. June 14, 1903, at mouth of Waitotara River, New Zealand; dau. of William Swainson (naturalist and artist) and Anne (Grasby) Swainson; m. Arthur William Follett Halcombe, 1863 (died 1900); children: 8.

Paintings and drawings depict the changing landscape of the bush from wilderness to grazing land and townland (1860s); provided nursing services to new immigrants and worked to establish community institutions (1870s); acquired and developed herd of Jersey cows, which contributed to dairy industry in New Zealand.

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

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