Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Margaret Christie was born about 1838 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland – the daughter of William Christie and Agnes Gorrie.
She emigrated to New Zealand with her family about 1860 and they settled at Otokia on the Taieri Plain.
Margaret married Walter John Yardley, a carrier, in 1861. They lived in Palmerston and had 9 children.
In 1877 Walter died at Kyeburn when a “horse kicked him in the head” and a “waggon then went over him”. He is buried in the Palmerston Cemetery.
Margaret remained in Palmerston where she signed the suffrage petition and worked as a storekeeper.
A few years later she moved to Kurow where she died on December 11th 1904. She is buried with Walter in the Palmerton Cemetery.
Margaret’s obituary said she was “of a retiring and unassuming nature... after a hard struggle with adversity, losing her husband and being left with a large family, she brought them up to manhood and womanhood with great credit”.
