Maker: Jan Lynch

Panel number: 180

Petition Sheet Number: 219

Person honouring: Agnes G Borthwick

Relationship to makers: Great-grandmother whom I knew and loved for 18 years.

Agnes was the eldest daughter of Annie Jane Fullerton and William McCullough Dorman from County Down Ireland. At age 18 she married her school master, James Bibb Borthwick, born Glasgow, Scotland. The couple moved about Canterbury teaching. 

Agnes was a strong woman and brought up my mother, Nancy, and her two siblings for several years after the accidental death of their father. Their mother was training as a Plunket Nurse under Truby King. She excelled at croquet and bridge and supported her husband in his educational pursuits. She was an accomplished needlewoman and a parishioner of Knox Presbyterian Church in Christchurch. 

Her descendants now would number about 100, significant surnames being; Menzies, (from Hadecke) Fogarty, Lynch, Jones, Curtis. Born around the world; N.Z. USA, Ecuador, UK, France. Teachers, doctors, surgeons, diplomats, university graduates, nurses, physiotherapists, engineers, painters, occupational therapists, bankers, public servants, artists, set designers, architects, local politicians, soldiers.

Footnote: There were two Agnes Dormans. The first was my Great Grandmother who grew up in Springfield, on marriage moved to Kaikoura  as Agnes G. Borthwick and signed the petition on sheet 219.The second Agnes married William Dorman, my great great Uncle the brother of the first Agnes and went to Springfield to live from whence she signed on sheet 188. They later settled on and developed the Happy Valley Farm on the southern Wellington coast. The panel is for Agnes G. Dorman, sheet 219. This family history has been so interesting working out the stories of the two Agnes.

Panel materials: Felt and paper mache made by my daughter Karen (Kate) found in her sewing box after her death in 2015. Karen was the first double transplant of kidney and pancreas called from NZ by Westmead Hospital, Sydney. She survived a further 22 years, earned a MA with distinction, married David Filer and was a highly regarded public servant. The family photos are printed on to fabric. Top, Agnes Borthwick, Florence Menzies, Nancy Fogarty, and child, Janice Fogarty, myself. 4 generations.Middle, Anthony, Gregory, Terence Lynch. Jan, Brian, Karen, Jacqui Lynch.4th and 5th generationBottom, Olivia, Izaak, Michaela Lynch, Nancy Fogarty, Hanna Lynch, Maxwell Lynch. 6th and 3rd generation.Only cost was in the printing of the photos.