Caroline Harriet Abraham was born in Wanlip near Leicester.
Background
Caroline Harriet Palmer was born and baptised in 1809 in Wanlip, Leicestershire, England. She was the daughter of Sir Charles Thomas Hudson Palmer and his wife. Her father had changed his name from Hudson to Palmer in order to the terms of an inheritance.
Career
She became a New Zealand artist who created a useful record of that country in the nineteenth century. She put together a book, with others, supporting Maori rights. They arrived in Auckland on 6 August 1850 with their servant.
Her husband trained both Māori and European youths.
Her husband was ordained to became the Bishop of Wellington whilst on a trip to England in 1857. Her only son, Charles was born the same year and he went on to be the Bishop of Derby.
Abraham was a water colourist and her scenes of early New Zealand immigrant settlements are held by the National Library of New Zealand and Auckland City They are an important source of information from this period. During the New Zealand Wars she advocated for the Māori.
The publication that she helped create was called Extracts of letters from New Zealand on the war question and it was published in 1861.
George Selwyn was a Bishop and Sir William Martin was the Chief Justice. Abraham believed that the Māori people (then called natives of New Zealand and similar) were a proud race whose rights needed to be considered. This book was distributed privately after being printed in London.
In 1862 a set of eight matching lithographs were published which were based on images created by Abraham.
The images built into a panorama of Tamaki showing the site of Street John"s Chapel and school buildings in Auckland. Abraham died in Bournemouth in 1877.
Her paintings and sketches are held in several collections in New Zealand. One of her sketchbooks is in Auckland Public Library and this records the influence on her of classically trained, but New Zealand artists like Albin Martin and John Hoyte.