Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Stella Heyward Mann was born in 1864 in New Zealand - the daughter of Thomas Mann and Susan Heyward.
She married William Baker Fisher, a clerk and widower, on 13 March 1888 at St Paul’s Cathedral in Dunedin.
They had no children and when Stella signed the suffrage petition they were living in Heriot Row, Dunedin.
William’s job took them to Wellington in the late 1890s.
They both took an active role in the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Stella and William were taking a holiday in England when WWI started and they both volunteered their services. 'Mrs Fisher went to one of London’s largest hospitals' while William worked at St John’s Gate as a registrar, helping to organise the transfer of men from the Ambulance Brigade to Naval and Army positions. Her photo appeared in the paper at this time. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19160322.2.117.5.5
After the war both Stella and William were awarded the honours of Dame and Knight of Grace. When Stella was awarded her medal in 1924 she was the fifth New Zealand woman to receive the honour.
William died in 1934 and Stella died on 11 December 1942, they are buried together in the Karori Cemetery, Wellington.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Wellington City Council https://wellington.govt.nz
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