TIM BREWSTER

The extraordinary life history of a generous donor to the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust has been revealed in a recently-published biography.

Stina Mooyman, 93, a Wanaka resident for 20 years, immigrated to Dunedin in 1956 with her mother, brother and his fiancee to escape the ruins and economic hardships of post-WWII Holland.

‘Stina’, her biography by Auckland writer Susan Buckland, describes the challenges of growing up in the 1930s during the Depression and living in Nazi-occupied Holland before starting a new life in Dunedin and Te Anau in her thirties.Starting with a job as a kitchenhand in the Otago University residence of Carrington Hall, she went on to found successful businesses in Te Anau with another vigorous Dutch woman, Dirkje (Dick) Veenstra.

Retiring to Wanaka in their seventies, Dirkje unfortunately died only a few years after their move, but Stina remained very active in the community, mowing her lawn and tending to her highly regarded gardens at her McDougall St house well into her eighties. She recently moved north permanently to the ‘Ons Dorp’ Dutch retirement village in West Auckland. However, she has left a strong legacy in Wanaka. Through her trustee, John Harrington, she was the foundation donor to the palliative care suite developed by and owned by the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust at the recently-opened Aspiring Enliven Care Centre.

The suite is named the Stina Mooyman Palliative Care Suite and is accessible to those suffering terminal illnesses in the region.

In the final page of the biography, Stina outlines her reasons for the donation: "New Zealand has been good to me. I feel lucky that I can give something back. Dick and I both wanted to help those who suffered from cancer and so it's her legacy too.”

Trust chairman Russell McGeorge told The Wanaka App, "Our trust was stunned when approached regarding Stina’s wonderful donation, as we had not anticipated such individual generosity. It has secured the Trust’s operations and provided a needed facility to the residents of the Upper Clutha.”

‘Stina’ is available at Paper Plus in Wanaka and at the care suite at Enliven.

PHOTO: Tim Brewster