Maker: Margaret Sinclair

Panel number: 526

Petition sheet number: -

Person honouring: Melinda Jane Scantlebury

Relationship to maker: Great-grandmother

While I never knew Melinda I did know her eldest daughter (great-aunt Nellie) who left an impression on me as a very determined woman. She brought up my mother from the age of 11 as my grandmother died suddenly. My mother was very involved in assisting women and children outside our family and very involved with the YWCA.

Melinda Jane Scantlebury was born in 1850 in Cornwall, United Kingdom and at the age of 17 migrated to Australia. In 1869, she married her first husband William Alfred Bullen at Clunes, Australia. After the birth of their three children, the family emigrated from Australia to New Zealand around 1875, where their fourth child was born. Tragically, William died in a mining accident only seven months later in January 1876. 

In 1877, Melinda married Peter Brundall, and had another five children while the family were living in Westport and Reefton, where Melinda signed the petition. Some time after the death of her second husband, Melinda and her children moved to Wellington. She passed away in 1921, aged 71 and is buried at Karori Cemetery. Melinda was my great-grandmother.

Panel materials: All the materials I had in my sewing room except for the black lace that was kindly given to me.