The TGHS school principal who climbed Aoraki at 52
1866–1954
Girls’ education
Principal
Mountaineering
Margaret Lorimer’s South Canterbury connection came through the mountains rather than through permanent residence. She used the Hermitage at Aoraki as a base for climbing holidays and, in 1918, reached the summit of the country’s highest mountain at the age of 52.
Margaret was born at Inverness, Scotland, on 9 June 1866, the daughter of Jessie McLennan and James Lorimer, a ploughman. The family emigrated aboard the Glenmark, arriving at Lyttelton on 1 November 1871. They later settled at Woodend in North Canterbury. Margaret attended Woodend District School before entering Christchurch Girls’ High School in 1880. Although she had begun some subjects later than her classmates, she won a University of New Zealand Junior Scholarship in 1883 and completed an MA with second-class honours in languages and literature in 1888.
She began teaching part-time at Christchurch Girls’ High School while still studying and joined its full-time staff in 1889, with responsibility for mathematics. A Margaret Lorimer of “Girls’ High School Ch’ch” signed sheet 546 of the 1893 women’s suffrage petition. The name, address and timing align closely with her known employment at the school.
In 1897 Margaret became headmistress of Mount Cook Girls’ School in Wellington. Inspectors recorded marked improvements in teaching and discipline under her leadership. She also served on education committees considering the curriculum, teachers’ superannuation, staffing and salaries. Importantly, she argued that the difference between men’s and women’s pay should be reduced.
Margaret became principal of Nelson College for Girls in January 1906 and remained in the position until December 1926. She led the college through increasing enrolments, curriculum changes, tight finances and years when Nelson teachers received some of the country’s lowest salaries. She recruited and trained staff, supervised the school’s academic and boarding departments and, for much of her principalship, worked without secretarial assistance.
The work was demanding. Soon after moving to Nelson, Margaret began spending school holidays in the mountains, staying either at the Graham family’s hotel at Waiho or at the Hermitage. She climbed with the experienced guides Peter and Alexander Graham and developed into a skilled mountaineer. One of her early ascents was Mount Moltke in 1912. She later completed four successful climbing seasons during her fifties and reached the summit of Aoraki in 1918. She also made unguided ascents with Horace Holl.
Margaret joined the New Zealand Alpine Club in 1924 and was also a member of the Ladies’ Alpine Club in London. Her climbing belonged to the European recreational history of the Southern Alps. It is important to place that story within the much longer history of Aoraki, who is recognised by Ngāi Tahu as a tīpuna and the most sacred of ancestors.
Margaret’s contribution was practical rather than symbolic. She improved a struggling school, participated in national education discussions, challenged unequal salaries and guided Nelson College for Girls through two decades of growth and change. In the mountains, she became part of the early documented history of women undertaking serious alpine climbing in Aotearoa.
After retiring, Margaret helped establish a Wellington branch of the Nelson College for Girls Old Girls’ Association. She served on the dominion executive of the League of Mothers from 1936 to 1947 and edited its magazine until she was 78. She never married and died in Wellington on 29 October 1954.
Read the WuHoo Blog for more: https://wuhootimaru.co.nz/blog/909-knowledge-is-power-the-women-who-broke-the-glass-ceilings-in-education
Timeline
1866 Born at Inverness, Scotland, on 9 June.
1871 Arrived at Lyttelton with her family aboard the Glenmark.
1874 Family settled at Woodend, North Canterbury.
1880 Entered Christchurch Girls’ High School.
1883 Won a University of New Zealand Junior Scholarship.
1886 Began part-time teaching at Christchurch Girls’ High School.
1888 Graduated MA with honours in languages and literature.
1889 Joined the school’s full-time staff.
1893 Signed the women’s suffrage petition.
1897 Became headmistress of Mount Cook Girls’ School, Wellington.
1906 Became principal of Nelson College for Girls.
1912 Climbed Mount Moltke.
1918 Reached the summit of Aoraki, aged 52.
1924 Joined the New Zealand Alpine Club.
1926 Retired from Nelson College for Girls.
1936–1947 Served on the dominion executive of the League of Mothers.
1954 Died in Wellington on 29 October.
Main sources
Lois Voller, “Lorimer, Margaret”, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara
The strongest general biographical source. Supports her parentage, migration, schooling, university study, teaching career, education advocacy, Nelson principalship, mountaineering, retirement activities and death.
Margaret Lorimer, 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition, NZHistory
Records Margaret Lorimer’s signature, the address “Girls’ High School Ch’ch” and petition sheet 546.
Portrait of Margaret Lorimer, Alexander Turnbull Library
Provides the c.1926 portrait, collection details and an inscription recording her Nelson principalship and 1918 Mount Cook ascent.
Evening Post, 21 December 1909, Papers Past
A contemporary newspaper notice records Lorimer, then principal of Nelson College for Girls, leaving for Mount Cook. It independently confirms that her alpine visits were established before her better-known later climbs.
New Zealand Alpine Journal Archive, New Zealand Alpine Club
The archive contains historical climbing records. Te Ara cites Margaret Lorimer’s obituary in New Zealand Alpine Journal, volume 16, number 42, June 1955, pages 225–227. That obituary should be checked before a longer feature is finalised.