Laura Jane Suisted (born Laura Eyre; 1 January 1840 – 7 September 1903) was a notable New Zealand writer, journalist and parliamentary reporter. She is regarded as a pioneer women journalist in New Zealand.

Biography

Suisted was born in

Greasbrough Greasbrough is a small suburb in Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls in the Greasbrough Ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. Greasbrough had its own local council, Greasbrough UDC (Urban District Council), until ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, on 1 January 1840. She was the only child of plumber Abel Eyre and his wife, Mary Lee. In 1862, Suisted moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where she met and married station manager James Samuel Suisted. After several failed business ventures in different parts of the country, the couple moved to Westport. There, James was more successful as business man and they settled permanently, staying in the town for the rest of their lives.

Career

Suisted built her career as a writer, while her husband became a businessperson and served as mayor of Westport on two occasions. In 1878, the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduction ...

'' began publishing her stories, poems and sketches. From 1884, she was a political reporter, the first woman to do so. Her stories were published by the ''Otago Witness'' and wider afield in New Zealand and Australia.Maud Cahill, 'Laura Suisted', in Charlotte Macdonald, ''The Book of New Zealand Women,'' p. 639-641 (Wellington, 1993)

Memberships

* New Zealand Institute of Journalists * Royal Geographical Society of Australasia * British Institute of Journalists * Incorporated Society of Authors, London

Trip to England and Scandinavia

In 1893, Suisted traveled alone to England and Scandinavia. When friends expressed concern at her travelling alone (at a time when few women did), she replied That'' depends on the lady'. While in England, she attended the opening of the Imperial Institute and viewed the House of Lords. In Scandinavia, she visited

Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family that ...

, the Arctic explorer. While away, she wrote about her travels and these were published in the New Zealand newspapers. She also published a book, ''From New Zealand to Norway,'' upon her return.

Death

Suisted died in Westport on 7 September 1903, and she was buried in the Orowaiti Old Cemetery. Her husband remarried in 1904, and died in 1910.

References

1840 births 1903 deaths New Zealand journalists English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand women journalists New Zealand women writers 19th-century journalists People from Greasbrough People from Westport, New Zealand 19th-century women writers {{NewZealand-writer-stub