Sarah Ann McMurray ( Silcock, 26 August 1848 – 14 September 1943) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

woodcarver and craftswoman.

Biography

McMurray was born in

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

, on 26 August 1848, the daughter of Susannah Silcock (''née'' Flower) and Captain Simon Bonnet Silcock. McMurray was the third of 14 children.

Sarah Page Sarah Page may refer to: *Sarah Page, a character in the science fiction television series ''Primeval'' *Sarah Page (prohibitionist) (1863–1950), New Zealand teacher, feminist, prohibitionist, socialist, social reformer, and politician * Sarah Pa ...

, a prohibitionist, was McMurray's cousin through her mother's sister, Rhoda Saunders (née Flower), who married politician

Alfred Saunders Alfred Saunders (12 June 1820 – 28 October 1905) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Early life Saunders was born in 1820 in Market Lavington, the youngest son of Mary and Amram Saunders. He was educated in Market Lavington and at a B ...

. She married Robert McMurray in 1872. They had six children. They lived for some time in dense forest in the Inangahua Valley on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. In the 1880s they moved to a farm in Awahuri in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Later moving again to

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

. She took up relief carving as a hobby and despite being over 50 years old she enrolled in a local technical college to develop her wood carving skills. She was prolific and elaborately carved most of the furnishings in her house. She was among the signatories to New Zealand's

1893 women's suffrage petition The 1893 women's suffrage petition was the third of three petitions to the New Zealand Government in support of women's suffrage and resulted in the Electoral Act 1893, which gave women the right to vote in the 1893 general election. The 1893 ...

. In 1914 her and husband Robert McMurray moved to

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. She continued her woodcarving in Palmerston North working in the garden shed. She worked mainly in kauri. She also handmade toys for her children and grandchildren one of which is in the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

Death

McMurray died at her home on Ada Street in Palmerston North on 14 September 1943, aged 95. She is buried at

Terrace End Cemetery Terrace End Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Almost 10,000 people have been buried in the cemetery since Rangitāne gifted the land to the fledgling Palmerston North settlement in 1875. Plots are now closed, but ...

next to her husband, who died in 1927.''Manawatu Standard''
8 September 1927 Page 1

References

External links

Photographs of Robert and Sarah Ann McMurray
Manawatu Heritage {{DEFAULTSORT:McMuray, Sarah Ann New Zealand woodcarvers 1848 births 1943 deaths 19th-century New Zealand women artists 19th-century New Zealand artists People from Palmerston North People from Nelson, New Zealand People from Whanganui Women woodcarvers 20th-century New Zealand women artists Burials at Terrace End Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand people