Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Martha Galton was born in 1838 in Blanford, Dorset, England – the daughter of Christopher Galton, a sergeant in the 2nd Dragoon Guards, & Elizabeth Warburton.
She sailed for Otago in 1862, arriving in January 1863, on the Sarah M.
Later that year, on September 14th, Martha married John MacDonald/McDonald, a stonecutter.
They had 7 children, one who died in infancy, & they lived at Woodhaugh in Dunedin.
John died in 1887 when their youngest child was 3 years old.
When Martha signed the suffrage petition she was living with her 2 daughters in Cumberland Street.
In 1894 two of Martha’s sons died while working as crew members on the SS Wairarapa when it was wrecked off Great Barrier Island.
Martha died on August 1st 1926 at her son’s home in Ravensbourne - she is buried with John in the Northern Cemetery.