Mary Ann was born about 1850, the daughter of William Barnard Rhodes and, most probably, of Otahui, a daughter of Aperahama Tuhana of Wellington's Ngāti Ruanui. William had no children by either of his wives, so Mary Ann was adopted and raised by William and his second wife Sarah Ann Moorhouse. Mary Ann was provided for in her father's will, but in spite of this she challenged the will. She lost her case in the New Zealand Supreme Court, but she was awarded £750,000 on appeal to the Privy Council. This made her the wealthiest woman in New Zealand at the time. She married her step-mother's younger brother, Edward Moorhouse, in 1883 in Wellington. They moved to England and raised four children, including William Barnard Moorhouse and Mary Rhodes Moorhouse. Her son, William Barnard Moorhouse, shortly before he married in 1912, as required by the will of his grandfather, changed his name to William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse. W. B. Rhodes-Moorhouse was killed in action in April 1915 and was the first airman awarded the Victoria Cross. Her daughter, Mary Rhodes Moorhouse, was active in the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Comintern in the early 1920s. In 1928 she married the Finnish Socialist politician Eino Pekkala and emigrated to Finland. There she was one of the major financiers of the 1930s Finnish cultural left, and a prominent civil rights activist.
Mary Ann was born about 1850, the daughter of William Barnard Rhodes and, most probably, of Otahui, a daughter of Aperahama Tuhana of Wellington's Ngāti Ruanui. William had no children by either of his wives, so Mary Ann was adopted and raised by William and his second wife Sarah Ann Moorhouse. Mary Ann was provided for in her father's will, but in spite of this she challenged the will. She lost her case in the New Zealand Supreme Court, but she was awarded £750,000 on appeal to the Privy Council. This made her the wealthiest woman in New Zealand at the time. She married her step-mother's younger brother, Edward Moorhouse, in 1883 in Wellington. They moved to England and raised four children, including William Barnard Moorhouse and Mary Rhodes Moorhouse. Her son, William Barnard Moorhouse, shortly before he married in 1912, as required by the will of his grandfather, changed his name to William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse. W. B. Rhodes-Moorhouse was killed in action in April 1915 and was the first airman awarded the Victoria Cross. Her daughter, Mary Rhodes Moorhouse, was active in the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Comintern in the early 1920s. In 1928 she married the Finnish Socialist politician Eino Pekkala and emigrated to Finland. There she was one of the major financiers of the 1930s Finnish cultural left, and a prominent civil rights activist.
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