Jefferson Christina
Christina Jefferson (c.1891-1974)
Jefferson was raised in Dunedin. In her teenaged years she was studying commercial practice, book keeping and shorthand, for an office career.
"Everything had to be carried in a “splitsack” over my horse's back, and weight of food, sleeping-bag and clothing had to be considered always. Altogether, I rode over a thousand miles and spent seventy-seven nights alone in remote habitations. I do not know how many miles I walked."
In 1950 she was resident in Dunedin but by 1952 had moved to Auckland where she remained for several years. At the close of her life she was resident in Waihi Beach.
"Miss Christina Jefferson was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and educated at a small rural school in the Leith Valley nearby. Her youthful pleasure in exploring the varied countryside near her home and school later emerged in the enthusiasm with which she sought out and studied the tree-carvings of the Chatham Islands. In her retirement, at a stage when most women are content to follow a quieter life, this pursuit has engrossed the time and energy of several years. That some of these years have been concurrent with her study for a degree in anthropology, is further tribute to her purposefulness and devotion to her subject." (JPS notes on contributors).
References
Jenkin, C., 1992. Christina Jefferson : a Victorian feminist? Unpublished MA research essay, University of Auckland.
Miskelly, C., 2008 People who made a difference. p159-172 in MisKelly C (Ed)Chatham Islands Heritage and Conservation. 2nd edition, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
Biblography
1949 Burial customs of the Moriori.Journal of the Polynesian Society 58(3):128.
1949 Moriori playing bowl. Journal of the Polynesian Society 58(3):128.
1955 The Dendroglyphs of the Chatham Islands. Journal of the Polynesian Society 64(4):367-441 online.
1956 Dendroglyphs of the Chatham Islands. Memoir of the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 31 Reprinted from the Journal (revised and with an index).
