Biography

Mrs Eileen Lillian Starr was the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Beardsley and the wife of John Starr, a Dunedin Businessman. Her father and her mother arrived in the early 1850’s and were among the first settlers of Otago. Perhaps because of her family’s direct links and influence on the city of Dunedin she played an active role in the “Otago Pioneer Women’s Association” for 29 years and was elected president in 1957.

She was also active in many other Dunedin associations, namely the Travel Club, the Townswomen Guild, the Otago Women’s Club, the British Sailors Society. She was also a helper in the Crippled Childrens Society, a member of the National Party, the Early Settlers Association, the Navy League and the St Clair’s Womens Club.