Bessie Te Wenerau Grace (28 October 1889 – 20 June 1944), also known as Wene and Sister Eudora, was a New Zealand teacher and education leader.
She represented the University College in tennis and hockey in local matches, and partnered future world champion Anthony Wilding in mixed doubles.
[2] Grace had trained as a teacher, and was appointed as House Mistress and to teach English at St Margaret's Girls' College in Christchurch in 1912.
[2] In 1912, Grace and her married sister Agnes both applied for legal status as New Zealand Europeans, under the Native Land Amendment Act of 1912.
[2] Despite not having finished university, Grace attained a position at St Hilda's Collegiate in Dunedin from 1915 to teach the fourth form, tennis and singing.
[3][5][1] The order encouraged Grace to finished her undergraduate degree, and she completed her Bachelor of Arts at distance through the Canterbury University College in 1926, having studied French, German and education, and also attained a blue for lawn tennis.
[5] In 1926, Grace enrolled at St Mary's College, in the University of London, where she graduated in 1927 with an MA with first-class honours in modern languages.
For three years, Grace took a break from teaching, and was at St Mary's Convalescent Home in Broadstairs, caring for sick children and orphans.
[1][4] In November 1943, Grace returned to New Zealand to visit family, and arranged for them to purchase a house in Devonport for her retirement.
[2] Wilding remembered her friend as "immensely popular, a splendid hockey captain, tennis champion, above all set an example of absolute integrity and a keen sense of honour – her word once given was never broken".