Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Gordon McArthur was born in New Zealand in 1872, the daughter of Charles McArthur and Hughina McLeod.
Mary’s father died in 1878. When she signed the suffrage petition, Mary was living with her family in Lower Russell St, Dunedin working as a machinist. Her mother Hughina also signed the petition.
She married Alexander Blackwood, a butcher, and they had three children.
Mary died on 13 October 1928 and Alexander died in 1935. They are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
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
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