Esme Tombleson
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Esme Tombleson CBE QSO |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Gisborne |
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In office 1960–1972 |
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| Preceded by | Reginald Keeling |
| Succeeded by | Trevor Davey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Esme Irene Lawson 1 August 1917 Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 30 July 2010 (aged 92) Gisborne, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Residence | Burnage Station, Gisborne |
| Occupation | civil service, Member of Parliament |
| Profession | ballet, theatre |
Esme Irene Tombleson CBE QSO (née Lawson, 1 August 1917 – 30 July 2010) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. An Australian child prodigy who recited Shakespeare, she had a career in theatre and ballet. During the war, her sharp mind and strong memory was recognised, and she became a civil servant. She came to New Zealand through marriage, and lived on rural land near Gisborne. She represented the Gisborne electorate in Parliament for 12 years, and was prominent as a campaigner for multiple sclerosis.
She was born in Sydney in 1917 and educated there. She received her education at the Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School in Darlinghurst, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and the Imperial School of Ballet in London. She was taken around Australia as a child prodigy by her mother, reciting Shakespeare. She was involved in various ballet, opera and theatre companies. During World War II she served in the Women's Auxiliary Signalling Corps in Sydney, where her sharp memory was recognised. She became secretary of the Manpower Advisory Committee.
She came to New Zealand in 1951 when she married Tom Tombleson, a Gisborne farmer. They had met at Franz Josef while on holiday. She was a headstrong person and as a public servant, she had been in a position of power. As she knew nothing about farming, this was an area where her husband was a clear superior to her, and she found the experience interesting. They lived on Burnage Station, some 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Gisborne.
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