Miss Mary Taylor

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 60, 4 December 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

Miss Mary Taylor

Like KA.J. (Hawera) I was interested in Miss Mary Taylor's letter to Miss Bronte, especially as I remember her when she used to ride out to the Hutt to visit my grandparents, who were always glad to see her—an educated English lady whom it was a pleasure to meet in those early days of Wellington. Miss Taylor and my aunt had many pleasant jaunts together, and I can remember Miss Taylor putting me up on her pony and leading him round the paddock. She called him “Korey,” it must been just before she left for England. I don’t remember her shop as the Misses Smith kept it in my school days, but I have been told it was the same building. I knew Miss Taylor was Rose Yorke, of “Shirley,” but did not think Waring Taylor was Martin, I have heard he was the baby Yorke—but your correspondent probably knew the facts. Mary Taylor published a few books after her return to England—had she written an account of her New Zealand experiences they would have been interesting reading now. Among my aunt’s belongings when she died there was a photograph of Mary Taylor—a powerful face, but with a pleasant expression. She had a decided manner, and was a good conversationalist. Early Wellington has a great fascination for we old settlers; it is interesting to compare the hardships of those days with the comforts of the present.—S.F.D (Wanganui), f