Emma Jane Richmond (née Parris, 1845 – 9 October 1921) was a New Zealand community and religious worker. She was a pioneer of

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers ...

in New Zealand.

Early life and family

Born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

in 1845, Richmond was the daughter of Robert Reid Parris and his wife, Mary Whitmore, who had arrived in New Zealand in November 1842. Raised as an Anglican with a liberal interpretation of doctrine, she read widely and was active in musical pastimes as a young woman. She married Henry Richmond at St Mary's church, New Plymouth, on 15 July 1868. Henry Richmond was a Unitarian and a widower, his first wife, Mary Blanche Hursthouse having died in 1864. Emma became stepmother to his two surviving children. The couple went on to have three children of their own, before Henry died in 1890.

Community and religious activities

In 1886, Richmond became the first woman elected as a member of the Taranaki Education Board, and she was prominent in seeking the abolition of corporal punishment of girls. She was chair of the Ladies' Visiting Committee, which observed the management of New Plymouth hospital from 1886, and was the first woman elected to the Taranaki Hospital Board. Richmond was interested in the treatment of female prison inmates, and for many years was an official visitor of jails nationally. It is thought that Ricmond probably first encountered

theosophical Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

ideas during family discussions within the Atkinson–Richmond extended family, but it is known that she was a member of the Christchurch branch of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

in 1894, and was its president by 1897. Richmond became president of the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

branch of the Theosophical Society after moving to that city in 1900, and served in that capacity for three years, giving over 60 public lectures. She was elected president of the sixth annual convention of the New Zealand Theosophical Society in 1901. In 1904, Richmond and her daughter, Beatrice, visited London, where they encountered anthroposophy and the ideas of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...

, and Richmond arranged for translations of Steiner's lectures to be sent to New Zealand. After returning to Wellington she continued to receive and distribute copies of Steiner's lectures in translation as well as some of his books. In about 1912, Richmond moved to

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Rachel and Bernard Crompton-Smith, and she led an anthroposophical study group, which included Mabel Hodge, at their home.

Death

Richmond died at

on 9 October 1921. Her funeral left

St Paul's pro-cathedral St Paul's Pro-Cathedral (Malti: ''Il-Pro-Katridral ta' San Pawl''), officially The Pro-Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Paul, is an Anglican pro-cathedral of the Diocese in Europe situated in Independence Square, Valletta, Malta. A "pro-ca ...

in Wellington, and she was buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...

Legacy

After Richmond's death in 1921, the Crompton-Smiths took up the leadership of anthroposophy in New Zealand, eventually leading to the establishment of the

Anthroposophical Society The General Anthroposophical Society is an "association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world." As an organization, it is d ...

in New Zealand in 1933, and the country's first

Rudolf Steiner school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skil ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Emma Jane 1845 births 1921 deaths People from New Plymouth Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand Theosophists Anthroposophists Burials at Karori Cemetery