C. F. Polson

Adair Polson-Genge Posted: 3 Jun 2018

Number 161 C.F. Polson

Christina Flora Polson was born on 22nd October 1872 at the Morven Hills Station House near the Lindis Pass. She was the fifth child and eldest daughter of John Polson and Christina Ross, both emigrants from Helmsdale in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. Her father was a shepherd on Morven Hills and her mother was housekeeper for the Station. The family affectionately called her Teeny.

Christina’s preschool and early schooldays were at the Station House. She was about seven years of age when the family moved to Bendigo, where her parents had taken up one of the first small farms in this district. Christina attended Bendigo school until November 1887, passing her Standard Four exam and leaving aged 15 years. One year, the Education Department inspection records noted in the ‘comments’ column that “the Polson children had a great distance (to walk) – 4 miles”. Christina told her family that she remembered walking 3-4 miles to school barefoot and in the snow.

After finishing school, Christina left Bendigo to live in Dunedin where she was trained as a dressmaker. This occupation employed a large number of New Zealand women at this time. It was extremely hard work involving long hours and often carried out in poorly lit premises. On the 1893 Dunedin suffragette roll, Christina was living in St. Andrew Street, the heart of Dunedin at this time. She also signed the petition in 1892, also in Dunedin.

With her parents, Christina registered on the 1893 Wakatipu roll as Christina Flora Polson, Dressmaker. This ensured she had the right to vote in the first ever women’s vote in the world. She turned twenty one years of age only a few weeks before she had the opportunity to vote in this election.

After her mother’s early death from diabetes in 1894, Christina moved back to Cromwell to be nearer to her youngest two siblings who were still at school. She continued her dressmaking work, possibly in partnership with her sisters Annie and Catherine.

On 8th February 1899, she married Charles Cyril Sanders. The wedding took place at the Bendigo farm. Charles was a butcher in Cromwell. Christina and Charles raised eight children, six girls and two boys Through her skill as a dressmaker and with cloth ordered by the roll from the warehouses along with the latest pattern books, Christina kept her children well dressed. Her girls dressed a year ahead of the fashions. However the downside to being outwardly fashionable was that the underwear worn underneath was made from recycled flour bags, which the girls hated. Christina’s talent for sewing, knitting, patchwork, tapestry and embroidery remained a strong interest all her life. She also dabbled in painting with oils.

As well as caring for her family, Christina looked after her father John until his death in 1910 and also supported her husband in his Civic duties as a Councillor and later Mayor of Cromwell. In her later years, Christina suffered from a heart condition that often left her very tired. She also began to lose her sight. Christina died on 5th December 1941 and is buried with Charles in the new Cromwell cemetery. Her Obituary, printed in the Cromwell Argus on December 15 1941, described Christina Sanders as “a women possessed of a quiet and retiring manner and one whose chief interest was in her family. She was a lady who was held in the greatest respect and esteem by many friends made throughout a lifetime spent in the Cromwell town and district. She was a staunch adherent member of the Methodist church there and one of the early members.”

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