Eliza Piper was born about 1834 in Sussex, England – the daughter of William Piper, an agricultural labourer, and Emma Barnes.
Eliza came to New Zealand in the early 1860s 'when the town consisted of a few wooden shanties.'
It is not clear who 'Mr Rowe' was but they do not appear to have had any surviving children, although they did have an adopted son.
Eliza appears to have run a form of nursing home as the newspaper reports in the 1880s advertise several deaths and births occurring at her home in Arney Street in Greymouth.
This is where Eliza signed the suffrage petition.
She died on 14 December 1915 and is buried in the Karoro Cemetery.
Her obituary said 'her kindly disposition made for her many friends, and her sympathy and ready assistance in all cases of sickness earned for her the gratitude of all those to whom she ministered, particularly the old pioneers.'
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Buller District Council https://bullerdc.govt.nz/do-it-online/
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
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