Elizabeth Turnbull (2 May 1885 – 4 June 1988) was a New Zealand woollen mill worker and centenarian. She was the head of her section in the hosier department at

Mosgiel Woollen Mill The Mosgiel Woollen Mill is situated in Mosgiel, Dunedin, New Zealand, and was opened in 1871. The Mosgiel Woollen Mill was the second woollen mill to open in New Zealand. The mill was integral to the town and a significant employer from when it ...

Early life and education

Turnbull was born in

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, on 2 May 1885 to Catherine Armstrong, a milliner, and Sydney Turnbull, a baker. Her parents emigrated from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1864. Turnbull was the youngest of eleven children. She attended East Taieri School from the age of 6 to 14. Turnbull had aspirations to become a teacher but her family could not afford to keep her in school. Her family attended the East Taieri Presbyterian Church.

Career

Turnbull began working as a domestic servant at the age of 14. She earned three shillings a week. In 1900, she joined the hosiery department at

where she began making socks. At the mill, women earned lower wages than men for completing the same work. She worked 5.5 day weeks and earned 24 shillings a fortnight. She was known for her assertiveness and speaking on behalf of others when she saw injustice. She disliked unions and resisted joining until she was given an ultimatum of being fired or paying union fees. She became head of her section in the hosier department. Turnbull was forced to retire in 1957.

Personal life

Turnbull's father died in 1903. She never married, and lived with her mother. When her mother died in 1927, Turnbull moved to a house on Gordon Road in Mosgiel. She lived independently and cared for her hens and vegetables. She became a local celebrity when she became a centenarian. Turnbull was the guest of honour at the 130th anniversary of the East Taieri School and participated in Mosgiel's centenary celebrations. She died on 4 June 1988 at the Ross Home in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, and was buried at

East Taieri East Taieri is a small township, located between Mosgiel and Allanton in New Zealand's Otago region. It lies on State Highway 1 en route between the city of Dunedin and its airport at Momona. It lies close to the southeastern edge of the Taieri ...

Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Elizabeth 1885 births 1988 deaths People from Mosgiel New Zealand centenarians 20th-century New Zealand women Women centenarians New Zealand people of Scottish descent Burials at East Taieri Cemetery