Maker: Janine Worthington

Panel number: 68

Petition Sheet Number: 65

Person honouring: Elizabeth Brown

Relationship to makers: None

Elizabeth Brown moved to Dunedin from Australia and had a tough adult life. Widowed and bankrupt at only 29 with five small children, Elizabeth quickly married an older wealthy bachelor, Thomas Brown. The family lived in the Catlins where Thomas developed farmland around Owaka. Thomas died suddenly in May 1893 and although he provided annuities for his wife, he left his estate to his brother William Brown and his sister Rachel Whitelaw.

According to newspaper accounts of a Supreme Court hearing in 1895, an action initiated by William forced Elizabeth to move her family back to Dunedin from the Catlins. An uncompromising executorship of Thomas’ estate by William lead to further bankruptcy for Elizabeth. She struggled to support her family and look after her elderly parents.

In April 1895, Elizabeth married William Hood, upholsterer, furniture salesman and energetic trade union activist of Stuart Street. Each party to the marriage brought six children. In January 1901, Elizabeth died suddenly with acute pneumonia at just 41. She is buried in the Hood family grave in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.

Panel materials: The fabric was new from Spotlight, I used paint and stamps I had lying around here, and I worked 46 French knots and embroidered her signature, using thread I had. The lace used was some I inherited from my grandma and she would have been pleased to see it used in such a way.