Mary Jane Mander was born on 9 April 1877 to Francis and Jane Mander (née Kerr) at Ramarama, south of Auckland, New Zealand. She was the eldest of five children. Her formal schooling began at Wellsford in 1883, but it was to be a fragmented education as her father Frank Mander moved from place to place in search of kauri trees to mill. From 1885 until 1889 Mander attended schools in Wellsford, Port Albert, Kaiwaka, and Onehunga. When she was fifteen years old she returned to Port Albert to become a pupil teacher at the primary school, and she continued teaching for the next seven years, moving to Devonport, Otahuhu, and Newton West primary schools all in the Auckland area. At night she studied for her matriculation and she passed this in 1896.
From early on she knew that it was writing
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Citation: McGregor, Rae. "Mary Jane Mander". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2908, accessed 21 November 2024.]
