Maker: Catherine Hatfield

Panel number: 315

Petition sheet number: 374

Person honouring: Mrs [Jane] Yandle

Relationship to maker: None

Sarah Jane Turle was born in Somerset, England, in 1843.

She married William James Yandle in 1863. Together, in 1865 they emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand, with their newborn daughter on the passenger ship Percy.

Jane and William had at least eight children, some of whom died very young. Jane’s life with her husband was not easy and there are numerous newspaper reports of William’s bad behaviour towards her, including violent assaults. 


In 1866, Jane set up business in Auckland as a taxidermist and naturalist, skills we understand she learned from her mother Mary Fox. Jane advertised her skills in the Auckland newspapers, offering to mend sealskin jackets and make up old furs into the ‘newest style’.

Jane was prolific in her taxidermy work and may have been the first female taxidermist in New Zealand. She appeared to specialise in birds and examples of her work can be seen at the New Zealand Timber Museum in Putaruru. Other specimens are held in private collections. One of Jane’s works, birds in a glass case, was offered for auction at Bonham’s in London – no information is available on who bought the piece.


Jane and two of her daughters, Eunice and Jannie, all signed the suffrage petition on both sheets 374 and 403. It is understood some women signed the petition twice to ensure their vote was counted.


Jane died at her daughter’s home in Ponsonby, Auckland in 1915, aged 72. She was buried alongside William at Purewa cemetery, Auckland.

Athough Mrs Yandle is unrelated to me, through my interest in the natural world I was drawn to her work as a taxidermist and, like me, she was a stitcher at heart. 

Panel materials: Fabrics and threads given to me by my mother and her friends. The base (unseen) is a vintage white cotton sheet, the print fabrics are cotton quilt fabrics, and the green base of the tree is a vintage table napkin. The threads used are Danish flower threads (a treasured donation), crochet cotton, Indian variegated machine threads, and embroidery floss. Beads are leftovers from other projects. Nothing was bought for this project.