Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Murphy was born about 1835 in Glasgow, Scotland.
She married Alexander Binnie, a bricklayer, about 1855 in Glasgow. They had three sons, one who died in infancy, before they emigrated to New Zealand about 1863.
They had a further seven children, two who died in infancy, and lived in Dunedin.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition the family was living in Maori Hill, Dunedin.
Mary died at her home on January 9th 1909. She is buried with her children in the Northern Cemetery.
In the 1900s Alexander went to Queensland to work. He died in the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum in September 1909 and is buried in the Asylum Cemetery.
Sources
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