Annie Townend

Anne Quayle Townend (née Moore; –1914) was a New Zealand heiress and philanthropist.

Biography Townend's birthplace and date have been recorded as Sydney around 1845 and elsewhere as Tasmania in 1843. Her parents were George Moore and Anne Kermode; Kermode's parents owned the large sheep run that Moore worked on (Mona Vale, Tasmania) and there was speculation that Moore married her for access to the family wealth. The couple had four children together, however the marriage ended and in 1853 Moore emigrated to New Zealand alone, purchasing what would become Glenmark Estate in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury, with funds from his ex-wife's family. When she was 19 years old she joined her father in New Zealand, living in a large mansion on the Glenmark property. The property was destroyed by fire in 1891 and Townend and her father moved to Christchurch. By this time her father's health was failing and he was losing his eyesight. He passed his business interests to Townend and gave her his power of attorney. She had a gatehouse built at the property in a similar style to the mansion at Glenmark, increased the size of the property by nine acres, extended the landscaping and added to the variety of trees and plants. After the New Zealand International Exhibition, held in Hagley Park, finished in 1907, she purchased the exhibition's fernery including its plants and had it reassembled in the grounds. She also added a bath-house to the property. The property remains a heritage attraction in Christchurch. She died of a stroke at Glenhome in 1914 and is buried at St Peter's Church in Riccarton beside her father. In her will she left gifts to servants, family members and charities including the Salvation Army, Barnardo's and Nurse Maude.

Personal life On 15 September 1900, unbeknownst to her ailing father, she married Dr. Joseph Henry Townend, (1847–1902), a prominent Christchurch physician and widower, at St Barnabas Church, Christchurch. they were the parents of Nina Ogilvie-Grant, 12th Countess of Seafield.