Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jane Ann Morris was born in 1858 in Victoria, Australia – the daughter of John Morris, a miner, and Margaret Pickering.
She came to New Zealand in the 1870s and she married coal miner James Richards in 1879.
They had five children and although Jane signed the suffrage petition in Greymouth they were living in Brunnerton at the time.
On 26 March 1896 James died when an explosion occurred in the Brunner mine. Jane’s father also died in the mine that day, they are buried in the mass grave in the Stillwater Cemetery provided for the miners.
Two of Jane’s sons died in 1916 in WW1 and another son died in 1926 in the Dobson mine explosion.
Jane died at her home in Taylorville on 11 August 1937 – she is buried in the Karoro Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au