Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Little was born about 1818 in Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland, England – the daughter of John Little and Sarah Row.
She married George Harle, a grocer, in 1837 and they had three children.
The family emigrated to Otago in 1863 on the Dauntless then 'in the year 1865 they came round to Catlins in the schooner Nora'.
'The Harles were the first to settle in Catlins, and when they arrived there the land was not surveyed'.
George died in 1873 and when Sarah signed the suffrage petition she was living with her son in Owaka.
In 1901 she had the honour of unfurling the flag on the new flagpole at the Owaka School.
Sarah died in August 1912, she 'was extremely well known and highly respected in the district. Of a kind disposition, the old lady was widely beloved by a large circle of friends. She was a member of the Baptist Church and had the honour of picking the site for the church, where it now stands'.
She 'has the unique distinction of having lived under six soverigns'.
Sarah is buried in the Owaka Cemetery.
Sources
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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