Daphne Purves


Dame Daphne Helen Purves was New Zealand's oldest Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the time of her death. Her main area of expertise was education.
Purves saw education as the key to better conditions for women worldwide; and the passion of her life was the International Federation of University Women of which she was president for three years from 1977. She is fondly remembered by her former students of Waitaki Girls' High School, Otago Girls' High School, Otago Boys' High School and Dunedin Teachers' College.

Personal life

Daphne Helen Cowie married Herbert Dudley Purves in 1939. She died in hospital on 14 October 2008 aged 99, three weeks short of her 100th birthday, and was survived by her two daughters, Hilary Helen and Elizabeth Celia, and one son, Robert Dudley Purves.

IFUW Grant

The IFUW offers a Daphne Purves Grant to help women graduates to obtain specialized training and to carry out independent research in any country for a .

Biography

Nothing Like A Dame: A Biography of Dame Daphne Purves by Anderson, Molly