Mary Townsend (1822 – 31 December 1869) was an artist and an early English settler in

Canterbury, New Zealand Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current f ...

. Townsend emigrated to Canterbury from England in 1850 with her parents, nine siblings and a cousin. Her father was

James Townsend (1788–1866) James Townsend (c.1790 – 12 August 1866) was an English wine merchant, who in later life was a pioneer settler in New Zealand's South Island. He was also an amateur cricketer. Life Townsend was born in 1788. or 1790/1.1841 census details onlin ...

, whose first home in Canterbury gave its name to the Christchurch suburb of Ferrymead. They arrived at Lyttelton on the ''Cressy'', one of Canterbury's First Four Ships. She had already had some years of art training in England before emigrating, and on arrival she continued to paint. She specialised in portraits, and her portrait of the Chairman of the Colonists' Association (her husband, Dr Donald) was exhibited in Christchurch in 1852. Townsend also produced drawings and watercolours of Lyttelton, one of which was used to illustrate the Canterbury Association's ''Canterbury Papers'' ''1850–1851.'' In 1870, Townsend's work was included in the first art exhibition held in Christchurch, staged by the Canterbury Provincial Council and held at a temporary annex of the Canterbury Museum. Fellow settler Charlotte Godley commissioned Townsend to paint a portrait of her husband John Godley, the Chief Agent of the Canterbury Association, and another of their infant son, Arthur. The portrait of Arthur Godley is in the collection of Canterbury Museum, while the Christchurch Art Gallery holds the painting of John Godley. On 20 November 1851 she married William Donald, Medical Officer of Health for Lyttelton. Her elder sister Frances married William John Warburton Hamilton in 1855. Mary Donald suffered an attack of paralysis in mid-1867 and never fully recovered. She died from another episode on 31 December 1869. She was buried at Lyttelton Cemetery.

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Image of a sketch by Townsend of the Cressy's arrival at Lyttelton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Mary 19th-century New Zealand people 1822 births 1869 deaths New Zealand artists English emigrants to New Zealand People from Lyttelton, New Zealand