Pat was born in Ellerslie, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her father was a dentist (who practised into his 90s). Her mother died when Pat was ten years old, and a brother died as an infant. She had two older sisters, Phyllis and Yvonne; none of the sisters married.

During the Second World War, Pat joined the WRENS and also took a course in sculpture at ELAM. After the war she studied pottery with RN Field at Avondale College and undertook her first exhibition in 1948.

Pat began teaching pottery at Avondale College and became a full-time potter in about 1950. Barry Brickell was one of her students in 1956. She used a coke-fired kiln and lead glazes until 1952 when she purchased an electric kiln.

In 1957 Pat was one of 15 potters invited to take part in the first NZ Potters Exhibition in Dunedin, and in 1963 with her sister Yvonne, was a foundation member of the NZ Society of Potters. In 1965 she built an oil-fired kiln from an Yvonne Rust design.

Throughout the 1970’s Pat taught at Avondale Teachers College and the Auckland Studio Potters Centre. She stopped making pots in 1979 but continued to teach for several more years.

Pat’s work was shown in the USA, UK, Italy, Australia, Germany, and at EXPO ’70 in Japan. It is represented in the collections at the Fienza International Museum of Ceramics in Italy, the Auckland Art Gallery and Te Papa Tongarewa.

Pat died in 1988.

Rick Rudd
2026