Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Ann Garth was born in 1868 in Newcastle upon Tyne in England – the daughter of William Myers Garth, a seaman, and Margaret Hall.
In 1869 the family boarded the Tornado for Melbourne which landed in January 1870. A few months later they sailed again, this time for Greymouth on the Gothenburg.
They settled in Greymouth where Mary’s father sailed cargo boats and the tug Westland.
She married, bootmaker, William Henry Bennington in 1889 and they had three children. Mary signed the suffrage petition in Greymouth.
She died at her home on 12 May 1913 and is buried in the Karoro Cemetery.
Her obituary said she was one of 'Greymouth’s well-known, popular and highly esteemed citizens'. She had 'endeared herself to many friends by her unostentatious kindness and the nobility of her character; was an active worker in St. John’s Presbyterian Church, and by her quiet acts of charity known only to those whom she benefited, she earned the love and gratitude of people of all classes'.
William re-married in 1915 – he died in 1935 and is buried in the Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/