Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Grace Wilkinson McNair was born in 1867 in New Zealand, the daughter of Hugh McNair, a cooper, and Ann Shearer Miller.
When Grace signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in York Place, Dunedin and working as a dressmaker. Her mother Ann and sister Jane also signed the petition.
Grace married Henry William Simpson Hellyer, a warehouseman, at her parent’s home on 17 April 1895. They had one daughter.
Henry died in 1926 and Grace died on 4 July 1928. They are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions