Mary Emelia Moore (7 March 1869–17 May 1951) was a New Zealand Presbyterian missionary in China from 1897 to 1948 for the Church of Scotland Yichang Mission.

Moore had the advantage of leveraging her network in New Zealand for reliable support, which contributed to the success and expansion of the Women's Mission over the years.

[1][2] New Zealand forged a deeper connection to Yichang when Catherine Graham Fraser's sister, Isabel, visited the mission in 1904.

[4] Throughout Moore's lifetime in China, she witnessed political instability, catastrophic flooding and outbreaks of disease, violence and two wars.

After mandatory retirement in 1933, Moore continued to live and volunteer at the mission with her efforts focused on prisoners and the blind.

At the end of World War II, Moore returned to Yichang to recover what was left of her burnt out mission and to re-open her school.

Between 1948 and 1950, Moore traveled around the world, making stops in Scotland and New York to see her daughter, Isobel, before returning to New Zealand.