Maria Atkinson

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Maria Atkinson (born Jane Maria Richmond; 15 September 1824 – 29 September 1914) was a New Zealand pioneer, writer, and early advocate for women. She is best known for being the first Pākehā woman to climb Mount Taranaki, which she did in 1855 as part of a party that included her husband. She wore canvas trousers on the ascent and served as the cook for the group.

Maria grew up in a Unitarian family. After her father’s early death, her family faced financial difficulties. At age 28, she and her relatives moved to New Zealand with the Hursthouse, Richmond, and Ronald families and settled in the New Plymouth area. She married Arthur Atkinson on 30 December 1854.

In New Zealand, Maria began by fulfilling traditional roles as a pioneering wife and mother, but she later became active in public life. When the Atkinsons moved to Nelson in 1867, she promoted women’s suffrage, campaigned for a girls’ college, and ran a debate team. The Fairfield House, owned by the Atkinsons, was used by the newly opened Nelson College for Girls for its early faculty.

Maria Atkinson is remembered as a key figure among New Zealand’s 19th‑century writers and feminists, and as part of the Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family. Her work helped pave the way for women’s education and rights in New Zealand.