Biography contributed by Wendy Napier-Walker
Dorothea Kirby was born Dorothea Amundsen on 11 November 1849 in Nannestad, Norway to Amund Hakensen and Dorte Jensdatter.
Dorothea Amundsen arrived in Lyttelton on 30 August 1872 on the ship Friedeburg which sailed on 18 May 1872 from Hamburg, Germany. She was 23 years of age and her occupation was given as Needlewoman.
On 14 March 1874 Dorothea married Maurice Henry Kirby in Timaru son of Maurice and Mary Kirby. Maurice was born in Adare, Limerick, Ireland. On this date Dorothea became a British subject by virtue of her marriage to Maurice Kirby.
The 1878 electoral roll for the Gladstone electorate records Maurice Kirby living in Waimate, Part Section 4316 Waimate Bush.
In the 1881 and 1882 electoral rolls Maurice Kirby was a Labourer living in Waimate.
On 20 January 1881 Maurice Kirby appears in the Waimate Magistrates Court charged with assaulting and threatening his wife. Drink being a factor. He was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and required to keep the peace for six months.
On 19 February 1891 a Bankruptcy Notice appears in the Timaru Herald which includes the name of Maurice Kirby, Waimate, Labourer.
Maurice and Dorothea had six children: Henry Maurice Kirby born 1877, Dorothea Alexandra Kirby born 1879, Margaret Jane Kirby (Moore) born 1881, Charles Marshall Kirby born 26 November 1883, Arthur John Kirby born 31 August 1887 and James Richard Kirby born 31 January 1888.
Maurice Henry Kirby died on 26 March 1902 age 59 years and is buried in the Waimate Cemetery, Old Anglican Section, Plot 000110.
The 1911 electoral roll for Waitaki records Dorothea living in George Street, Waimate and in 1925 she was living in Rhodes Street, Waimate.
Dorothea Amundsen Kirby died on 22 March 1926 age 76 years and is buried in the Waimate Cemetery, Old Anglican Section, Plot 000107.
The headstone for Dorothea and Maurice Kirby records that Dorothea had been resident in Waimate for 50 years.
Dorothea Kirby’s Will states that 100 pounds was to be used for a tombstone and 10 pounds for a brass plate to be installed in St Augustine’s Church, Waimate with her name on it and the remainder of her estate was divided amongst family members, including a grandson Harold Alexander Kirby of Waipukurau.
Sources
Ancestry Public Family Trees
Archives New Zealand Passenger Lists 1839 – 1973 – Dorothea Amundsen
Timaru Herald newspaper – Magistrates Court report – Wife Beating – 25 January 1881, Page 2
Timaru Herald newspaper – Bankruptcy Notice 19 February 1891, Page 4
NZ DIA Death Index 1902/3762 – Maurice Henry Kirby
NZ Archives Probate Records 1843-1998 Timaru Court 1926 P2570-P2576 – Dorothea Amundsen Kirby
NZ DIA Death Index 1926/1720 – Dorothea Amundsen Kirby
Waimate Cemetery Records online, Waimate District Council