Maker: Norrie Wilson

Panel number: 60

Petition Sheet Number: 54

Person honouring: Mrs Duncan

Relationship to makers: Grandmother

Honora Dennehy (Nora or Norah) was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1870. Around age 15 she travelled to Melbourne, Australia. She was apprenticed to millinery at a local department store until she was 21. She moved to Sydney, and later to Dunedin where she worked at the DIC (a department store) in their millinery department. While there, she met her future husband, Robert Duncan (from Scotland), who was in the wholesale business and later became manager of Alex Thompson’s of Dunedin. 

Nora and Robert had four daughters whom their mother taught well in hand crafts, art work, sewing, and cooking. Mrs Duncan had been taught by family or staff involved in running the house. My 10-year old’s memories of my grandmother are sharing with her as we played shops - learning, in her words, to handle money. We played cards, cribbage, canasta, all to improve our everyday mathematics. I continue using her gifts, which she encouraged in me and were handed to me by her and by my mother, with great respect and pride. Nora Duncan died in 1951 in Dunedin. Note: While we can’t be certain the ‘Mrs Duncan’ who signed the petition is related to our family, her signature is very similar to our Mrs Duncan who also lived in Dunedin at the same time.

Panel materials: A portion of tartan skirt, cotton curtain lining and lace owned by Nora Duncan probably used in the making of a wedding veil. All used from own stash.