Maker: Victoria Moss

Panel number: 325

Petition sheet number: 386

Person honouring: Mary Hames

Relationship to maker: None

Mary Maddox was born in 1827 in England in 1827. A devout Methodist like her parents, Mary married Charles Hames on Christmas Day 1851. They couple migrated to New Zealand in 1864 with four sons.

Mary and Charles were among the first European settlers at Albertland on the Kaipara harbour. The scheme was aimed at those with a non-conformist religious conviction and promised free land. However, the allotted land was worthless and extremely isolated; most of the 3,000 Albertlanders chose to remain in Auckland. Fewer than 300 tackled the bush.

Like others, Mary and Charles were poorly equipped for the immense task of clearing land by hand in preparation for farming.

In large part due to Mary’s determination, effort, and resourcefulness, as well as her regular trips to town for stints of paid dressmaking and domestic work, the family carved out an income and coped with the hardships of an isolated life.

Returning from her solo expeditions with provisions, tools, and other necessities, Mary once earned enough to buy a cow. This allowed her to make and sell butter and grow her herd.

Mary and two daughters, Olive and Priscilla, all signed the suffrage petition.

Mary died in 1919, aged 91, when living at Russell with her daughter. By then the family was farming 1,000 acres of rolling pasture that Mary had worked hard to develop.

Panel materials: New and vintage cotton fabrics; cotton sewing and embroidery threads.