Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Emma Mary Pedder was born about 1850 in Bengal, India – the daughter of Edward Pedder, a soldier, and Elizabeth Butler. (See 68 Elizth Stevens)
Emma emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand with her mother in 1863 to re-unite with her step-father Michael Stevens who was serving in the New Zealand Wars.
When Michael was discharged from the regiment the family moved to Dunedin.
Emma was one of the first pupil teachers in Otago and was, for some years, an assistant school teacher at the Middle School.
When the 'Normal School opened in 1876 she was appointed mistress of Standard V, subsequently rising to the position of head mistress, in which she remained until her retirement. During her lifetime Miss Stevens interested herself keenly in the furtherance of educational progress, and for many years she took a prominent part in the activities of the Otago Educational Institute.'
When Emma signed the suffrage petition she was living with her mother in York Place, Dunedin.
She died on 29 November 1932 and is buried with her mother and step-father in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz