Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Eliza Johnston was born on 9 December 1847 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire – the daughter of Thomas Johnston, a blacksmith, and Martha Kirkwood.
She married currier John Begg on 25 June 1869 in Falkirk and they had five children, one who died in infancy.
The family emigrated to New Zealand in 1879 on the Auckland and they settled in Dunedin where they had a further five children and John worked as a rug maker and tanner.
When Eliza signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Selwyn Road, North East Valley.
They purchased a section at Purakanui where they intended to build a “summer residence”. In November 1903 John, along with two of their sons, went to Purakanui to get things ready and to try out a new rowboat. They rowed three miles out to sea but were caught in a rip while returning over the bar. The boat capsized and John and one of their sons drowned.
John’s body was recovered two months later but their son’s body was never found.
Eliza was one of the first members of the North East Valley W.C.T.U. and also one of the first to “gain a seat on a Dunedin School Committee” and was also on the executive of the School Committees’ Association. She was a member of the Moray Place Congregational Church and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
When Eliza’s eldest son William was serving as Mayor of Dunedin she acted as Mayoress and she held the office at the time of the Prince of Wale’s visit in 1920.
Eliza died at her home on 21 June 1932 – she is buried with John in the Northern Cemetery.
Her obituary said “her attractive personality, her cheery optimism, her integrity and enduring influence would always be remembered by her fellow-workers. She was strong in her witness for her Lord and Master. She was never petty, never spoke unkindly of others, never criticised harshly, and when the work was hard and uncongenial she was always there with an encouraging word”.
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
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
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