Mary Downie Stewart (13 November 1876 – 27 March 1957) was a notable New Zealand political hostess and welfare worker. She was born in

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1876. Her father was William Downie Stewart Sr, a lawyer and from

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

a member of the House of Representatives. Her mother, Rachel Hepburn, died when Mary was two years old. Her grandfather was the politician George Hepburn. She was very close to her siblings, including Rachel Hepburn Stewart and William Downie Stewart Jr She acted as mayoress for her younger brother William when he was elected

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

. She was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) for her support of soldiers and their family during World War I. In 1916, Downie Stewart was one of thirty-three New Zealand women awarded the Médaille de la Reine Elisabeth (Queen Elisabeth Medal) for their efforts towards the Belgian Relief Fund during the war. Downie Stewart later supported her brother when he was elected to the House of Representatives, and was recognised as the person "to whom the country owes its new minister" when William was appointed to

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

References

1876 births 1957 deaths New Zealand social workers People from Dunedin New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand political hostesses {{NewZealand-bio-stub