Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Elsie Diack Meston was born 22 January 1869 in Keig, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The daughter of James Meston, a gardener, and Mary Paterson.
Elsie emigrated to Otago in 1879 on the Oamaru with her family.
In 1888 her father became manager of the City Dairy Produce Company. He was declared bankrupt in 1890.
When Elsie signed the suffrage petition she gave her address as York Place, but she was living at Mangatua on the Taieri Plains near Dunedin. Her mother Mary also signed the petition.
About 1895 the family moved to South Dunedin where they ran a store.
On 25 January 1898, at the South Dunedin Presbyterian Church, Elsie married William Ernest Richardson, a miller. They had one son.
Elsie’s husband William run a flour mill at Outram. He laid down the first hydro-electric power scheme in New Zealand with water from the mill race.
His expertise in this field took the family to the Taranaki district, then to Auckland.
William died in 1928. Elsie died on 19 September 1944. They are buried together in the Birkenhead/Glenfield Cemetery, Auckland.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Auckland Council https://www.aucklandcouncil.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