Maker: Annette Copping

Panel number: 78

Petition Sheet Number: 80

Person honouring: Bertha Schroeder

Relationship to makers: None

A leading social worker who devoted her life to women’s and children’s social work, Bertha was born in Australia in 1872, the daughter of German immigrants.

The family moved to Milton, Otago when she was a child. At the age of 19, Bertha joined the Salvation Army to become an officer and never married. 

Bertha was appointed court worker and probation officer for Invercargill in November 1934, the first woman to hold this position in Invercargill and among the first in New Zealand. 

Bertha died on the 20th January 1953 in Invercargill.

Panel materials: Scrap fabric, old sheeting, some purchased cord, wool and cotton and a piece of printed paper.