Mary Beatrix Dobie (22 December 1850 – 25 November 1880) was an English painter who died in New Zealand.

Biography

Dobie spent some of her early years in Burma, where her father Herbert Main Dobie was a major in the British army. He died there in 1854 when Dobie was three years old, and his widow Ellen Dobie travelled back to England with Dobie and her siblings. Ellen settled in

Irthington Irthington is a village and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district in Cumbria, England, situated to the north-east of Carlisle Lake District Airport. The population in 2011 was 860 according to the 2011 census. Toponymy The name Irt ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

to raise her family of three daughters and three sons. When she was 21 years old, Dobie moved to London and enrolled in the Female School of Art in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

. In 1875, Dobie's older brother

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

emigrated to New Zealand, and in 1877, Dobie and her mother and sister Bertha travelled first-class on the ''May Queen'' to visit him, arriving in January 1878. Dobie and Bertha kept detailed diaries of the journey and Dobie made sketches and drawings, which were later edited and published as ''The Voyage of the May Queen.'' Herbert had purchased a cottage in

Parnell, Auckland Parnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's most affluent suburbs, consistently ranked within the top three wealthiest, and is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the ...

, and the three visitors stayed with him there while also enjoying trips to attractions such as the famed

Pink and White Terraces The Pink and White Terraces ( and ), were natural wonders of New Zealand. They were reportedly the largest silica sinter deposits on earth. Until recently, they were lost and thought destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera, while new hy ...

. In 1879 Dobie and her sister travelled to Samoa and Fiji for more sightseeing. During this time, Dobie sketched and painted scenes depicting her travels, some of which were published in the London ''Graphic'' magazine. She also worked on the illustrations for Herbert's book ''New Zealand Ferns,'' which, on publication, became the standard book on the subject and was re-printed five times. In November 1880 Dobie visited her sister in her new home in

Ōpunake Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway ...

, Taranaki; Bertha had married a constabulary officer who had been transferred to the fortified town due to tensions and fighting between the local

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over severa ...

and the British settlers. Dobie and Bertha explored the area together, including a visit to the nearby village of

Parihaka Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major camp ...

, where Dobie sketched the village and its leader

Te Whiti o Rongomai Te Whiti o Rongomai III (–18 November 1907) was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki region. Te Whiti established Parihaka community as a place of sanctuary and peace for Māori many ...

. When she was out sketching one afternoon at Te Namu Bay she was confronted by a man, Tuhiata, who demanded money from her. Dobie gave him what she had, but when she said she would report Tuhiata to the British authorities, he attacked her and killed her. Her body was found around 9.30p.m. that evening by her brother-in-law and a search party of fellow constabulary. Tuhiata confessed to the crime and was tried and found guilty. He was sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out on 29 December in Wellington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobie, Mary 1850 births 1880 deaths People from Irthington 1880 murders in New Zealand 19th-century British women artists British expatriates in New Zealand