Martha King (1803 – 31 May 1897) was New Zealand's first resident

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

. She was a prominent figure in early

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

and New Plymouth as a founder of schools in both districts. She was a talented gardener and schoolteacher.

Life

Martha King was born in Ireland in 1802 or 1803. The family were

Socinians Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...

, and it is possible that King worked as a governess before emigrating. She emigrated to New Zealand in December 1840, arriving at

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 metr ...

on board the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

''. She travelled with her eldest sister, Maria, and her brother, Samuel Popham King. From Wellington, the Kings sailed to Wanganui on board the ''Elizabeth'', arriving on 27 February 1841, and became foundation settlers of the new town. They had purchased a section of the land acquired by Colonel

William Wakefield William Hayward Wakefield (1801 – 19 September 1848) was an English colonel, the leader of the first colonising expedition to New Zealand and one of the founders of Wellington. As a leader, he attracted much controversy. Early life William W ...

for the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

. Samuel King built two houses, and Martha King and her sister opened Whanganui's first school soon afterward. One source claims the school was popular, with the sisters balancing discipline and kindness well. In December 1847, the King family moved to New Plymouth, sailing on board the ''

Ralph Bernal Ralph Bernal (2 October 1783 ''available online to subscribers, and also in print'' or 2 October 1784 – 26 August 1854) was a British Whig politician and art collector. His parents, Jacob Israel Bernal and wife Leah da Silva, were Sephardi Je ...

''. King opened a school with her sister, Maria, and her sister-in-law, Mary Jane King, while living in New Plymouth. This venue was also used for other functions, such as balls and cultural activities, which reflected the Kings' prominent presence in New Plymouth's public life. Both sisters also wove flax to make cloth, bags and other goods to supplement their income. King created a "fine garden", and leaving it was a cause of distress when she temporarily moved to Auckland for safety during the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from M ...

of 1860–1861. King died at her New Plymouth home on 31 May 1897, aged 94 years.

Work

Watercolour of New Zealand rata - Martha King

King was one of the early British and Irish settlers who turned to botanical illustration to "eke out a livelihood in rough conditions". In September 1842, King was commissioned by the Wellington Horticultural and Botanical Society to prepare two sets of drawings of interesting indigenous botanical specimens, one to be forwarded to the directors of the New Zealand Company, and the other to the

London Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (N ...

. Exactly why King was chosen for this commission is unknown. The first set of 40 watercolours was completed by January 1843, reaching the New Zealand Company in London in September 1843; it was acquired by 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 ...

in 1981. The second set has disappeared without trace. In 1845, four of King's lithographs appeared in

Edward Jerningham Wakefield Edward Jerningham Wakefield (25 June 1820 – 3 March 1879), known as Jerningham Wakefield, was the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. As such, he was closely associated with his father's interest in colonisation. He worked for the New Zealand ...

's ''Illustrations to Adventures in New Zealand.'' Apart from the botanical watercolours, all that remains of King's work are 16 pencil sketches depicting scenes of Wellington, Wanganui and New Plymouth, dated between 1841 and 1859. Although King later exhibited at the

Sydney International Exhibition The Sydney International Exhibition was established headed by Lord Augustus Loftus and took place in Sydney in 1879, after being preceded by a number of Metropolitan Intercolonial Exhibitions through the 1870s in Prince Alfred Park. Organi ...

of 1879, no other examples of her work are known to have survived.

Recognition

In 2017, King was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Martha 1800s births 1897 deaths New Zealand educators New Zealand women educators New Zealand gardeners Irish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand women scientists 19th-century New Zealand artists Botanical illustrators Place of birth missing