Elsie Mary Griffin

Elsie Mary Griffin (1 November 1884–3 May 1968) was a New Zealand botany teacher and community organisation administrator. She was born in Lawrence, South Otago, New Zealand on 1 November 1884.^[1]

Biography

Elsie Mary Griffin was married to Cornelius Griffin, and he was a Wesleyan minister. The Griffins moved to Auckland province when she was 16 years old. Elsie Griffin had attended the Methodist Prince Albert College in Queen Street, Auckland, and in the year 1906, she was awarded an MA with honours in botany after she had studied at Auckland University College. In that same year she was able to take up a position as the botany mistress at Auckland Girls' Grammar School. As the botany mistress, Elsie Griffin took her pupils on long hikes in the Waitakere Ranges so that they could collect specimens. She was described to be a lively and enthusiastic woman, and these characteristics allowed her to get along with her students successfully. During the time of her teaching, she had become involved with the Young Women's Christian Association in Auckland. In the year of1908, she was able to help form a study group that was composed of university graduates. Following this in the year of 1910, she led a Bible study circle and served on the Evangelistic Committee. She had also become the secretary of the YWCA in the city of Dunedin from 1912 to 1915, and it was this experience that led her to spend the next two years studying social work methods in America. During the time of 1917, she returned to Auckland to once again be the secretary of the local YWCA.^[1]

References