Florence Myrtle Keene

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Florence Myrtle Keene
Born(1908-05-03)3 May 1908
Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand
Died15 February 1998(1998-02-15) (aged 89)
Occupation(s)historian, teacher, author

Florence Myrtle Keene QSM (née Matthews 3 May 1908 – 15 February 1998) was a New Zealand historian, teacher and author who contributed significantly to the recorded history of the Northland Region.

Early life and family

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Keene was born in Kaitaia, Northland, on 3 May 1908, the daughter of Herbert Bismark Matthews and Eliza Myrtle Matthews. She is a descendant of Reverends Joseph Matthews and Richard Davis, both of the Church Missionary Society; the former had worked in New Zealand since 1832 while the latter was based at the Te Waimate Mission.[1][2][3] Keene was educated at Kaitaia Primary School and Epsom Girls' Grammar School.[4] After attending Auckland Teachers' Training College and Auckland University, she taught throughout Northland. Her first teaching post was at Kaeo, where she taught 56 students.[4]

In 1936 she married John Oswald Keene at St Saviour's Anglican Church, Kaitaia. The couple would have four children.[1][5][6]

She was a member of the New Zealand Women's Writers, Whangarei Historical Society, the Historic Places Trust, and was on the executive committee of the Northland Regional Museum.[2]

Keene died on 15 February 1998, aged 89. Her husband had predeceased her several years previously.[1]

Writing career

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Keene wrote and published over 20 books relating to Northland history, people and places.[2] She was also the secretary of Northland, the regional magazine. [1] A collection of Keene's papers and photographs is held by the Whangarei District Libraries.[1] During her career she made a significant contribution to the recorded history of Northland.[3]

Honours

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Keene received the Queen's Service Medal for community service in the 1980 New Year Honour.[7][8]

Selected bibliography

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  • Cross over Kauri (1960)
  • O Te Raki (1963)
  • Between Two Mountains (1966)
  • With Flags Flying (1973)
  • By This We Conquer (1974)
  • Rangatira from Aupori (1974)
  • Tai Tokerau (1975)
  • Milestone: Whangarei County's first 100 years, 1876-1976 (1976)
  • To the Northward (1977)
  • Legacies in Kauri: old homes & churches of the North (1978)
  • Mimiwhangata Station (1978)
  • Poroti: marking the centennial of the Poroti School, 1879-1979 (1979)
  • Myrtle and Sophia (1982)
  • Time Turns the Pages (1983)
  • Under Northland Skies: forty women of Northland (1984)
  • Women: Today & Yesterday (1987)
  • No turning back (1989)
  • Northland founders (1989)
  • Kaitaia and its people (1989)
  • ... And his wife : women of Whangarei (1991)
  • From past to present : Waimamaku and Poroti (1992)
  • Down the O'Donnell, Davis, Matthews ladder (1995)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Florence Myrtle Matthews Keene".
  2. ^ a b c Keene, Florence (1987). Women Today and Yesterday. F. Keene. ISBN 0-473-00577-8.
  3. ^ a b "Florence Keene back in demand", The Northland Age, 4 July 2019, retrieved 15 September 2025 – via PressReader
  4. ^ a b Thompson, Julie (November 1974). "Florence Keene : historian and author". Broadsheet (24): 19, 27.
  5. ^ "Wedding of Miss F. Matthews". Northland Age. 28 August 1936.
  6. ^ "Florence Keene (nee Matthews) Wedding". Northland Room Digital Collections. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  7. ^ McLeod, Graeme (2020). New Zealand Honours and Awards 1840–2020. High Tech (NZ) Limited. ISBN 978-0-473-50695-7.
  8. ^ "No. 48043". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1979. p. 27.