Ann Burgess, M.B.E., wife of former New Plymouth Mayor Charles H. Burgess, died on 13 October 1949 at age 87. She was the daughter of John J. Swinnerton of Auckland. She moved to New Plymouth with her husband, whom she married in 1881, in the year 1892. She formed the Women's Patriotic Committee during WWI, which presented parcels to new recruits before they left New Plymouth. In 1918 she organised the first ANZAC Day reunion for ex-servicemen and women and patriotic workers. The annual gathering grew from a small amount of people to more than 1,100. In 1947, due to ill health, Mrs Burgess had to hand over the event's organisation to the New Plymouth Returned Services Association. Ann Burgess and her husband gifted a number of prominent landmarks to the public, including their country home Hapurunui, Mangorei, now known as Burgess Park. They also gave the Tea House and its equipment to Pukekura Park on the occasion of their golden anniversary. The couple was also instrumental in the establishment of the Soldiers' Plot in Te Henui Cemetery, given their membership in the War Graves Committee. She was awarded an M.B.E. in 1919 for her patriotic work during WWI. Ann Burgess was also one of the founders of the New Plymouth Victoria League in 1912.
(from a newspaper clipping with no date, presumably published several days after her death on 13 October 1949; likely to have been published in the Taranaki Daily News - see clipping attached to Deed of Gift documentation).