Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Clara Evelyn Collins was born in 1875 in New Zealand - the daughter of James Collins, an engineer, and Emma Gill.
When she signed the suffrage petition Clara was living with her family in Cumberland St, Dunedin.
She married Valentine Smith, a butcher, on 15 June 1904 at St John’s Church, Feilding, they had two children.
Clara died on 13 November 1914 of heart failure while having an operation in hospital.
She is buried in the Kopuatama Cemetery, Stratford.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
PapersPast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Stratford District Council https://www.stratford.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