Maker: Margaret Brasting

Panel number: 305

Petition sheet number: 362

Person honouring: Hannah McNatty

Relationship to maker: None

Hannah McNatty was one of many New Zealand mothers to lose family members in the 1914–18 Great War.

Hannah Farrow was born in London, England in about 1853 to Susan Jennings and William Farrow.

She came to New Zealand with her parents and married John McNatty in Invercargill in 1875. John was born in Ayrshire, Scotland and had also emigrated to New Zealand with his parents. The McNattys, like the Farrows, had settled in Invercargill. 

Hannah and John had 10 children altogether. Of these, Henry was reported missing, believed killed, in 1915 while fighting in the Dardenelles campaign. Walter was shot in the head in France and died of his wounds in 1917. Two daughters died as small children.

Hannah died in Invercargill in 1921 and was buried at the Eastern cemetery.

Panel materials: The background is stitched on vintage Chinese silk, faded with age, and stitched with old embroidery floss. These materials came to me after my aunt died. The panel is backed with old taffeta, also from my aunt’s stash. The tatting flowers were made by my aunt around the 1960s and I have always felt they needed to be in a special project. My aunt was born in 1893, became a teacher, did exquisite needlework, and was very involved in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the suffrage signing in 1968. The poppies were recycled from a tea shower I was given in 1961. The purple fabric with a koro symbol and green background links to both New Zealand and the suffrage movement.