Caroline Harriet Palmer was born and baptised in 1809 in
Wanlip, Leicestershire, England. Selwyn appointed her husband to lead the multi-level educational establishment,
St John's College, which he had founded in 1843. Her husband trained both Māori and European youths. Her only son,
Charles, was born the same year and he went on to be the
Bishop of Derby. Abraham was a
water colourist and her scenes of early New Zealand immigrant settlements are held by the
National Library of New Zealand and
Auckland Council They are an important source of information from this period. During the
New Zealand Wars she advocated for the
Māori. She wrote it with her cousin
Sarah Selwyn, Bishop George Selwyn, her husband and
Sir William and Lady Mary Ann Martin. George Selwyn was Bishop of New Zealand, and Sir William Martin was the Chief Justice. Abraham believed that the
Māori people (then called
natives of New Zealand and similar) were a proud race whose rights needed to be considered. This book was distributed privately after being printed in London. In 1867 Abraham and her son returned to England in order for him to study at
Eton. Three years later, her husband also went back to England as his friend George Selwyn was to be made
Bishop of Lichfield. Abraham died in
Bournemouth in 1877. ==Legacy==