Individual Details
Mary Ellen NEWTON
(1832 - 1922)
Events
| Birth | 1832 | England | |||
| Travel | Bet 1860 and 1863 | Around the World |  | ||
| Marriage | 1860 | Captain Matthew T CLAYTON | |||
| Emigration | 1864 | England to New Zealand | | ||
| Occupation | From 1875 to 1895 | School Principal and Owner - Parnell, City Central Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand | | ||
| Community work | 1875 | Melmerly Collegiate School - Parnell, City Central Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand | | ||
| Death | 1922 | Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand |
Families
| Spouse | Captain Matthew T CLAYTON (1831 - 1922) |
| Child | Florence CLAYTON ( - ) |
| Child | Emmeline CLAYTON ( - ) |
| Child | Marianne CLAYTON ( - ) |
| Father | Edmund M NEWTON (1798 - 1836) |
| Mother | Sarah HICKLING ( - ) |
| Sibling | Emily Harriet NEWTON (1834 - 1889) |
| Sibling | Edmund NEWTON (1835 - 1857) |
| Sibling | Mary Ann NEWTON (1836 - ) |
Notes
Travel
Travelled twice, on board the "Kent", comandered by her husband,Captail Matthew CLAYTON.
Emigration
Settled in Auckland.Occupation
At Melmerly Collegiate School.Community work
Because the CLAYTONS found difficulty in the education of theirdaughters, they established the school firstly in Mt. Albert in 1875,
but in 1876 it was moved to Parnell in order to secure more easily the
services of good teachers. (Parnell was then the area most popular
with the professional and official section of the community).
In 1881 Mary Ellen CLAYTON's husband, Captain Clayton, erected a
commodious building for school purposes in St Georges Bay Road,
Parnell, and there the school remained for the rest of its existance.
The building was still standing in 2000.
In 1924 Melmerly closed unable to compete with the church-backed
schools of Diocesan and St. Cuthberts. The building was then used as a
hostel for girls attending Epsom Grammar School for a while until
Linton Lodge was started in Epsom.
The school was always closely connected with the St Mary's Cathedral
Parish.
Mrs CLAYTON was an able woman who secured an excellent staff and the
school flourished under her care. She retired in 1895.
In 1895, she sold the school to her neice, Gertrude GORDON (nee
CHALLIS) and Amy HULL (a member of the staff).