Mary Townsend (1822 – 31 December 1869) was an artist and an early English settler in Canterbury, New Zealand. Townsend emigrated to Canterbury from England in 1850 with her parents, nine siblings and a cousin. Her father was James Townsend (1788–1866), whose first home in Canterbury gave its name to the Christchurch suburb of Ferrymead. They arrived at Lyttelton on the Cressy, one of Canterbury's First Four Ships. She had already had some years of art training in England before emigrating, and on arrival she continued to paint. She specialised in portraits, and her portrait of the Chairman of the Colonists' Association (her husband, Dr Donald) was exhibited in Christchurch in 1852. Townsend also produced drawings and watercolours of Lyttelton, one of which was used to illustrate the Cante