Anne Jane Louisa Outhwaite (1842 – 13 December 1925) was a New Zealand watercolour artist, poet social activist and philanthropist. As an artist, she exhibited in Auckland from 1875 until 1900. Some of her works are held in the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

Biography

Outhwaite was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1842. Her father was Thomas Outhwaite, New Zealand's first Supreme Court Registrar, and her mother was the French-born Marie Henrietta Louise Outhwaite (née Roget). Outhwaite exhibited with the Auckland Society of Artists and the New Zealand Art Students Association between 1875 and 1900. Some of her sketches were published in the newspaper ''New Zealand Graphic'' in 1879. Parnell, looking towards North Head and Rangitoto)

Parnell, looking towards North Head and Rangitoto)

Outhwaite and her mother were close friends of

Suzanne Aubert Suzanne Aubert (19 June 1835 – 1 October 1926), better known to many by her cleric name Sister Mary Joseph or Mother Aubert, was a Catholic sister who started a home for orphans and the under-privileged in Jerusalem, New Zealand on the Whangan ...

, founder of the religious order the

Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion The Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, also known as Sisters of Compassion, are members of a religious order of Catholic women founded by Suzanne Aubert. History Suzanne Aubert arrived in New Zealand with a group of missionaries in 1860. He ...

. She conducted a correspondence with Mother Aubert for many years. When Aubert spent six years in Rome seeking recognition from

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

for her order, Outhwaite supported her financially. Outhwaite was also a prison "official visitor" and welfare worker for women prisoners at

Mount Eden Prisons Mount Eden Prisons consists of two separate facilities in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Mount Eden — the Mount Eden Prison and the Mount Eden Corrections Facility. History The original Mount Eden prison was a military stockade built i ...

. She wrote poetry and in 1916 she contributed a verse to a very early Australian ANZAC day memorial book (''Their death Our Life: For the mortal shroud of our immortal heroes, Love weaves Peace''). Isa Outhwaite died on 13 December 1925 aged 83. She is interred in the Catholic section of Waikaraka Cemetery,

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

. Among the beneficiaries of her will were the Sisters of Compassion (£500), St Joseph's School, Grey Lynn (£250), St Mary's Orphanage, Howick (£250), the Little Sisters of the Poor (£1000), Mater Misericordiae Hospital (£1500), Bishop Cleary (£500 to be used to support female prisoners released from Mt Eden prison), and the remainder of her estate to Bishop Cleary for Catholic education in Auckland. This bequest led to the establishment of St Peter's College. She also left the family home and land in Grafton to Newmarket Borough Council, which was later developed into Outhwaite Park, and left Hen Island (Taranga) of

Hen and Chicken Islands The Hen and Chicken Islands (usually known collectively as the ''Hen and Chickens'') lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie east of Bream Head and south-east of Whangarei with a total ...

near

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

to the New Zealand government for a bird sanctuary. Isa Outwaite also gave money for the relief of poverty in Besançon, France and is publicly remembered there for her philanthropy."Miss Outhwaite Isa", List: ''Bienfaiteurs des Pauvres, Bienfaiteurs D'au Moins 10,000 Francs'', displayed on the "Maison des Oeuvres de Bienfaisance", 47 Grande-Rue, Besançon.

Legacy

In 2015, St Peter's College completed a 12-classroom block on Mountain Rd named the "Outhwaite Building" in memory of Isa Outhwaite and her family and in gratitude for the legacy of funds and land on which the college was established.''St Peter's College newsletter'', No 6/15 (24 April 2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Outhwaite, Isa 1842 births 1925 deaths New Zealand watercolourists 20th-century New Zealand artists People from Auckland New Zealand Roman Catholics Burials at Waikaraka Cemetery St Peter's College, Auckland faculty

Biography

Legacy

See also

References