Emily was born in Wallingford, Berkshire, England in 1822. In 1850 she married Alfred Wise in Oxford. Alfred was a journeyman carpenter. They had five children, the younger three being born in New Zealand.
In December 1886, Emily who ran a dressmaking business was charged with having committed a breach of the ‘Employment of Females and Others Act’ by allowing a girl named Maud Gulliver to remain in her work room past 2pm on Saturday 4th December. Emily pleaded Not Guilty.
The Inspector of Factories said that on the Saturday afternoon, he had visited Emily’s workroom in Willis Street and found young Maud working on the body of a dress with a needle and thimble in her hand. Constable Bollinger gave corroborative evidence but would only go as far to say that Maud had the dress in front of her.
Maud, who was 16, said that she had been sent upstairs to fetch down the bodice so that it could be packed up. On this occasion, she had not worked after 2pm. When the Constable entered, she had been examining the dress to check that all the pins had been taken out. She was not employed in the workroom, but assisted in the shop. His Workship dismissed the information.
Emily retired from the business in 1889. By this stage her premises were on Upper Willis Street (next to the residence of Dr Tripe).
In 1899 Alfred and Emily received their Old Age Pensions. They had lived for 44 years in New Zealand. They received £18 each.
Emily died on 27th October 1906 at her home in Cuba Street. The interment was private. Alfred died just a few weeks later on 5th November. He was 87 years old. There was no death notice for Alfred.
The plot is unmarked.
Plot: *Ch Eng/A/65
By Julia Kennedy
