Primrose Fenwick Self^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

1918 - 2002  (84 years)

• Name	Primrose Fenwick Self  [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Birth	28 Sep 1918	Te Kuiti, New Zealand   [2, 5]
  		Primrose Frenwick Birth
  Birth	28 Sep 1918	Te Kuiti, King Country, Waikato, New Zealand   [3]
  Christening	6 Apr 1919	St. Lukes Church, Te Kuiti, Taranaki, New Zealand
  Gender	Female
  Death	27 Nov 2002	Nelson, Marlborough, New Zealand   [3]
  Death	27 Nov 2002	Nelson, New Zealand   [5]
  Burial	3 Dec 2002	Marsden Valley Cemetery, Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand   [3, 5]
  		Find a Grave Memorial page for PTE Primrose Fenwick Self MacFarlane, Memorial ID 140225383
  Person ID	I282740898908	MacFarlane
  Last Modified	7 Feb 2026

  
  

  Father	Richard Self,   b. 11 Jun 1882, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 14 Jul 1957, Nelson, New Zealand (Age 75 years)
  Mother	Lucy Mary McAllum,   b. 28 Sep 1887, New Plymouth, New Zealand d. 14 Jan 1976, Nelson, New Zealand (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	1917	New Zealand   [6]
  Family ID	F58	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ian Trenwith MacFarlane,   b. 28 Dec 1912, Durban, Natal, South Africa d. 20 Apr 1986, Nelson, Marlborough, New Zealand (Age 73 years)
  Marriage	17 Sep 1949	St. Barnabas' Church, Khandallah, Wellington, New Zealand   [4]
  		Find a Grave Memorial page for PTE Primrose Fenwick Self MacFarlane, Memorial ID 140225383
  Family ID	F64	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	7 Feb 2026

  
  

• Photos		Find a Grave Memorial page for PTE Primrose Fenwick Self MacFarlane, Memorial ID 140225383
  		Primrose Frenwick Birth

  
  

• Notes

  Born at Te Kuiti, Primrose lived on a small farm until she was 3 years old. The family then moved Te Aroha in 1924. Primrose started school at age 6, having been previously taught by her mother. In 1928 they moved to Wellington. Primrose attended Eastern Hutt School, KIlbirnie School, then Wellington Girls College before completing a Botany degree at Victoria University in 1939. She worked in the Botany Section at the Dominion Museum 1940-1942, at the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory 1942-44, then became an Army Nurse at the end of WW2 - she served in Italy and Japan between 1944 and 1946, and visited England on leave from Italy, particularly to meet Mrs Dill (mother of her pre-war fiancee John Dill who died on Crete). After returning to NZ she worked as a sub-matron at St Mathews School in Masterton then took a job on an orchard at Tasman, near Motueka, where she met and married Ian Macfarlane. They had their own orchard at Malling Road, Redwoods Valley from 1951 to 1968. They then retired to Richmond and Primrose subsequently became involved with the Red Cross, Womens Division of Federated Farmers (WDFF), RSA and Royal Forest and Bird Society. In later years she worked as a volunteer at the Richmond Public Library. Throughout her life Primrose suffered from poor circulation to her hands and feet, which were characteristically purple and often very cold. This was eventually diagnosed as CREST Syndrome. Because of complications with circulation, Primrose eventually had both legs amputated below the knee in 2000 and 2001. As usual, she just carried on with life using a wheelchair, artificial legs and an electric scooter for mobility. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis in November 2002 and died at Nelson Hospital a few weeks later. Her funeral service was held at the Holy Trinity Church in Richmond. Her granddaughter Lucy spoke very movingly on behalf of all the grandchildren. A copy of Lucy's 'speech notes' is on the Macfarlane family file. Primrose's letters to her friend May Dale (nee Abraham) written between 1937 and 1951 were re-typed and collated by her son Peter Macfarlane after her death. Electronic copies of these letters are held on file [ID?]. They make fascinating reading.... Primrose's pre-war fiancee (see letters) was John Pengelly Dill. John was born in England (20 June 1915) and died (1 June 1941, while a POW) of wounds received in battle at Pink Hill in Crete (on or about 25 May 1941). The miltary records show his pre-war profession as 'fur merchant'.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1027704383] Ancestry Family Tree, Ancestry Family Tree. [S1027818880] Ancestry.com, New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840-1950, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), N/A - microfiche from a private collector; New Zealand; Birth Index, 1840-1950. [S1027704281] Ancestry.com, Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1027704059] Donald Featherston Macfarlane, Donald Featherston Macfarlane NZ, (Gedcom recieved as e-mail attachment 5 November 2009). [S1027803165] www.findagrave.com, Find a Grave, (Ancestry.com), Memorial page for PTE Primrose Fenwick Self MacFarlane, Memorial ID 140225383. Find a Grave Memorial page for PTE Primrose Fenwick Self MacFarlane, Memorial ID 140225383 [S1027704519] Ancestry.com, New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1937, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).