Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Isabella Mary Siedeberg was born in Central Otago in 1871, the daughter of Franz David Siedeberg, a miner, and Anna Daly Thompson.
Her family moved to Dunedin about 1873 where her father became a builder.
Isabella was a talented student and was awarded several school prizes. She attended the Dunedin School of Art in 1890.
When Isabella signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in York Place, Dunedin. Her mother Anna and sister Emily also signed the petition.
Isabella trained as a nurse and graduated in 1909. She did not marry.
Isabella travelled overseas several times with her sister Emily Siedeberg (who was the first woman in New Zealand to graduate as a medical student) including a trip to a medical conference in Honolulu.
Isabella died suddenly in Auckland on 16 December 1937. She is buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
