Hester Needham (author)

Hester Needham (23 January 1843 - 12 May 1897) was a British women missionary and travel writer. She is known for the posthumous publication of God First or Hester Needham's work in Sumatra, a travel book published in 1899. A copy is part of one of the Special Collections of Maastricht University. It is the only known book written by a female missionary in Indonesia during those times. The book comprises Needham's letters and diaries, arranged by Mary Enfield. It also includes a preface written by Sarah Geraldine Stock and a chapter about the biography of the author. Needham stayed in Sumatra from 1889 to 1897, where she died. She traveled there to take part in the missionary work of the Rhenish Missionary Society, as the first evangelist woman of the mission.