Biographical information provided by Fiona Oliver, Alexander Turnbull Library, for the He Tohu exhibition:
Lucy came to New Zealand in 1840, on her husband’s own boat, the Deborah, which the local newspapers reported as the first vessel to come straight to Auckland from London. Newspapers also claimed that Lucy was the first white woman to set foot on land that would later become Port Chalmers.
She was born Lucy Cousins in Bradfield, England, in 1814 and married Captain Thomas Wing in April, 1840. Her husband had already spent time working in New Zealand and Lucy returned with him, intending to settle on land he’d bought. But the area was no longer prosperous so the couple moved to Launceston, Tasmania, and then to Melbourne. Lucy had eight children. In 1857 the family moved to Auckland, where Captain Wing had been appointed Harbourmaster. Lucy would remain there until her death in 1901, aged 87. She was a widow by the time she signed the suffrage petition, at the age of 79.
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