Mary J. Kempt

Biography contributed by Dr Nicola Francis

Mary Jessie KEMPT was born at Waipū, Northland to Janet McDONALD (1834-1920) and Alexander D. KEMPT (1834-1927) on 14 February 1870. Both her parents were born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and came to New Zealand with their families as part of the migration of Highland Scots to Nova Scotia and then New Zealand. Janet arrived on the barque Breadalbane in May 1858, and Alexander on the barque Ellen Lewis in May 1860.

Mary was the fourth of seven children. The family lived in Waipū, in a close community of their fellow Gaelic-speaking migrants. She was 23 when she signed the Women’s Suffrage petition with her elder sister Annie Kempt in 1893.

On 20 April 1901 at Avondale, Auckland Mary married Captain Alexander Dellae ‘Big Dellae’ McKenzie (1859-1931), another child of the Nova Scotian migration – the son of 'Prince' McKenzie.

Between 1902 and 1907, Mary gave birth to four children: Ronald Orr (1902), Jessie Margaret (1904), Annie Thompson ‘Nan’ (1905) and Alexander ‘Del’ (1907).

Mary and Alexander lived the first few years of their marriage in Auckland where Mary gave birth to Ronald and Jessie. She gave birth to Nan and Del after they moved to Ōkaihau in Tai Tokerau Northland where Big Dellae farmed. They returned to Waipū where they lived in a new house on land owned by Big Dellae’s father ‘Prince.’ The children attended Waipū Central School, Big Dellae continued with coastal trading between Auckland and Northland, and Mary, helped by her nephew Norman Kempt, managed the small farm.

Big Dellae died in 1931. Mary died in 1959 at the age of 89.

Sources

Beryl Gibson, ‘The “Prince” McKenzies’, Hamilton, B. Gibson, 1993.

Waipū Museum, The Centre, Waipū, Tai Tokerau Northland, Aotearoa New Zealand.