[2] In mid-1918, a friend showed her a letter written by Archibald Baxter to his parents, describing the punishments he was suffering in France as a conscientious objector.
[2] While in Otago, Baxter sought out Archibald at his family home in Brighton - they fell in love and were married on 12 February 1921, despite strong opposition from Macmillan Brown at the wide disparity in their backgrounds.
In the late 1930s the family travelled to Europe and attended the War Resisters' International Conference in Copenhagen, meeting many more pacifists there.
Back in New Zealand, conscription was introduced in 1941 and Baxter was a strong supporter of the conscientious objectors, attending their hearings and lobbying Members of Parliament (MPs) and officials for adequate conditions for their detainment.
She joined the United Nations Association of New Zealand, Amnesty International, and the peace organisation Voice of Women.
[2] Also in the 1950s, Baxter returned to her childhood love of botany and nature, nurtured by her parents on "educational tours" both within New Zealand and abroad.