Biographical information provided for the He Tohu exhibition:
Amelia Mary Randall, one of the wealthiest women in Hawke's Bay in the early twentieth century and an important public benefactor.
Born Amelia Mary Davenport in France in 1844, she became proficient in French and German and travelled extensively. In 1869 Amelia married Joseph Randall, a merchant. They lived on the Gold Coast (Ghana) until his sudden death from fever. His estate was mishandled and Amelia Randall is said to have been left destitute. To survive, she moved to Napier in 1876 to live as a companion-housekeep with her recently widowed uncle, Henry Stokes Tiffen.
After her uncle's death in 1896, Amelia inherited nearly half of his vast estate. She used this money to support charitable causes. She also took over the management of Tiffen’s Greenmeadows Vineyard and Fruit Farm. She was described as 'a good business woman' and took a special interest in her employees, many of whom later received bequests from her. When she died in 1930 her estate was divided amongst Baptist charities, the church and used to establish a new Baptist school.
More information about Amelia Randall is available on her Dictionary of New Zealand Biography entry on Te Ara.
She also appears to have signed sheet 435 of the suffrage petition.
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