Biographical information provided for the He Tohu exhibition:
Leah Lucy Wesney was the daughter of Robert Wesney, a brewer and Sarah Ann, nee James. She was born in Launceston, Tasmania on 29 April 1863 and brought to New Zealand when four months old, settling in Invercargill. She married Archibald Fotheringham Hawke on 9 November 1886 and went to live in Dunedin, returning to Invercargill in 1891. There were five children: Margaret Wesney (1888-1966), Robert Wesney (1890-1945), Leah Fotheringham (1892-1957), Archibald James (1894-1971) and Sarah Isabella (1903-1986).
From early years Leah was a devout worker in the Invercargill Central Methodist Church. She was the first secretary of the Ladies' Guild and one of the originators of the local branch of the Plunket Society. During the First World War she was chairwoman for the duration of hostilities of the Red Cross Committee, in recognition of which services she was awarded an M.B.E.
On the appointment of her husband to the Legislative Council, Leah withdrew largely from local activities, accompanying her husband to Wellington during Parliamentary sessions. On her husband’s retirement she returned home ill and died at Invercargill on 17 September 1932.