Maker: Helen Cook

Panel number: 384

Petition sheet number: 466

Person honouring: Margaret Hogg

Relationship to maker: Relative

The Hogg family name was (and remains) prolific in and around Whanganui. My great-grandmother was Elizabeth Barbara Hogg (known as Bessie) and she had a sister named Margaret – my mum’s Aunty Madge.

I am not 100% certain that this Margaret Hogg is my Aunty Madge. However, I found that while Margaret never married, she and Bessie continued to live close to each other throughout their lives, even after Bessie married. Their handwriting is alike and their important life dates align with the petition date.

Even if this Margaret is not my Aunty Madge, I have chosen her as my link to the Whanganui Hogg families. My mum recalls the sisters being hardworking women who kept good homes with both pretty and productive gardens. My panel reflects this with: flowers, buttons, a washing-day peg bag, and a doily to represent these traits.

There are only 15 names on sheet 466 but the last line reads “The above 15 names were obtained by Miss Hogg Wanganui.” I’d like to think that Aunty Madge was this determined lady.

Panel materials: I chose to recycle bits and bobs to create this panel – the peg bag and doily were made by my husband’s aunt and grandmother; the mother-of-pearl buttons were collected from garments over the years; the threads of the flowers are leftovers from old cross-stitch projects, all kept for a project just like this. The only new item is the first day cover stamp of Kate Sheppard that fills the basket. There are 46 flower petals representing other women.