Makers: Jackie Snelius and Sheree Vluggen

Panel number: 519

Petition sheet number: Did not sign 1893 peition

Person honouring: Mary June Wakefield

Relationship to makers:  Mother

We created this panel to honour our Mum, Mary Wakefield, who was born 29 November 1940 and we sadly lost on 9 September 2009. 

The qualities that typified the courageous women who signed the petition were evident in our Mum and the way she lived her life. Hers was a simple yet complex life. One of service to her family, her employers, and her friends. Through financial necessity, our Mum had to step outside the norms of a time where women stayed at home to raise children, keep house, and the home fires burning, to work and provide for her three children. She worked her way up to hold the most senior position, the only women at such a senior level in her workplace. While doing all this, she still managed to find time to knit and sew our clothes, and teach us the skills used to create our panel. In all this, our Mum set a great example – role modelling what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. Our Mum set the bar high! 

She was also a keen voter and instilled in her three children the importance of voting and taking a keen interest in politics – even if we didn’t always vote the same as Mum (the subject of robust discussion!). For all these reasons, we feel she deserves a place of honour with the original suffragists. She will always be our woman of great influence. 

Panel materials: Aida cloth for the backing, and cotton fabric in the suffragette colours for the quilted border. We also used embroidery thread for the cross-stitch work including metallic thread for effect, and embellishments.