Signed family name
Pope
Signed given name
Sarah Ann
Given address
Hawthorn Rd Papanui
Notes
Sarah Ann Pope helped her mother, Maria Sofia, run a store selling stationary and newspapers in Market Square (Victoria Square). In 1868 the store was destroyed by fire after it spread from the adjoining premises of Swale and Rankin, grocers. The fire had been started deliberately by Thomas Densley Swale to destroy the evidence after he had killed his business partner, John Rankin. Sarah was an important witness in the trial, which resulted in Swale's conviction for murder. A newspaper article with an account of her testimony is available on PapersPast.