Maker: Shirley Sparks

Panel number: 220

Petition sheet number: 259

Person honouring: Sarah ann Lang

Relationship to maker: Maternal great-grandmother

Sarah Ann Bennett was born in April 1865 in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England. She emigrated as an eight-year-old on the Chile, arriving in Napier in December 1872.

She married Johann (John) Lang in May 1886 in Dannevirke. They had six sons, one daughter, and one adopted daughter. Her second son was killed in World War 1.

Sarah and John lived at Waikuku, north of Christchurch, when she signed the petition and enrolled to vote in 1893 and 1896. John was listed in the electoral rolls as a farmer. By 1911, they had moved back to the Dannevirke area.

Sarah died in Dannevirke in March 1955, aged 90, and was buried at Mangatera Cemetery.

Panel materials: Materials I already had – linen background, cotton prints for hexagons, and backing. DMC embroidery threads. Photo printed on cotton.