Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Eliza Gardener was born about 1849 in the Cape of Good Hope according to cemetery records.
She married George Lyall Coombes, a carpenter, in 1870 in New Zealand and they had nine children, one who died in infancy.
When Eliza signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Castle Street, Dunedin.
Eliza died on 3 August 1916 – she is buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery.
George died in 1922 – he is buried with his parents in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.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