Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Joice Broomfield was born in Teighnmouth, Devonshire, England in 1863 – the daughter of Benjamin Broomfield, a gardener, and Mary Ferris Grant.
Her mother died in 1875 and her father re-married soon after.
Joice emigrated to Timaru with her family in 1878 on the Opawa and they settled near Ashburton.
Joice married George Dickson, a printer and widower with three children, on 31 December 1887 in Ashburton.
They lived in Milton where Joice signed the suffrage petition – in 1896 George went into a partnership of the Bruce Herald newspaper.
Sometime after this George moved to Christchurch while Joice moved to Balclutha where, with her sister Alice, she managed a maternity nursing home.
George died in Christchurch in 1920, he is buried in the Bromley Cemetery.
Joice died in Balclutha on 26 June 1929, she is buried with her sister in the Balclutha Old Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Christchurch City Council http://heritage.christchurchcitylibraries.com
Clutha District Council https://www.cluthadc.govt.nz/