Te Manawa currently is hosting an exhibition called ‘Suffrage in Stitches’. This project commemorates 125 years of Suffrage in New Zealand and was an initiative by St Vinnies Resew, an up-cycling, sustainable sewing initiative, in collaboration with Wellington Museum where it was first displayed in 2019.
Arohanui Hospice’s Day Stay Coordinator, Faye Lloyd, heard about this project through a family member in Wellington – both completed and submitted short biographies for ancestors who signed the petition as part of suffrage petition commemorations for the National Libraries He Tohu exhibition. Faye enrolled to complete a personal panel for one of her ancestors, but thought it would also be an inspiring activity for Arohanui Hospice as part of the Creative Living / Day Stay programme.
There were to be 546 panels representing the number of sheets signed on the petition, with 46 individual hand stitches on each one that totalled the number of signatories (25,521). The size of the panel was given (55.5cm x 21.5cm portrait) and the combined 300 metre length (if all the panels were to be laid end to end) represented the total length of the 1893 petition. Other than that guideline, each participant could create what they wanted.
Arohanui Hospice requested that the group’s panel would honour someone who signed from the Manawatu and was assigned ‘Mrs John Collis’ – a woman who signed petition sheet number 516. She had a small biography on the New Zealand History Website’s database. From Longburn, Eleanor was newly married and the biography suggested she worked in the recently opened freezing works.
A photo of Eleanor was found online and printed onto fabric. The group then planned how they would complete a panel. Patients and volunteers chose and hand stitched on individual lengths of lace or made button flowers. One of our patients hand stitched Eleanor’s name, a volunteer machined on the photo, another cross stitched pansies for the 46 individuals to be represented. One volunteer contributed some of her Mother’s tatting from her wedding dress. All fabrics, lace and buttons were donated to Hospice, recycling of materials was encouraged by Vinnes resew.