Biographical information provided by Briar Barry for the He Tohu exhibition:
Elizabeth Mary Hocken is Bessie Hocken (née Buckland), the second wife of Thomas Morland Hocken, the Dunedin surgeon, coroner, vice-chancellor of Otago University, natural historian, botanist and collector. The Hocken Library at Otago University was formed from his vast collection relating to New Zealand and the Pacific.
Thomas and Bessie were married in Invercargill in July 1883. Their only child, Gladys, was born in June 1884. Bessie supported her husband’s interests in natural history, Maori and Pacific ethnology, and New Zealand history. She helped him translate the text of Abel Tasman’s 1642 journey from Dutch to English.
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions