Sarah McMurray
New Zealand craftswoman and woodcarver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sarah Ann McMurray (née Silcock, 26 August 1848 – 14 September 1943)[1] was a New Zealand woodcarver and craftswoman.[2]
26 August 1848
Sarah McMurray | |
|---|---|
McMurray, c. 1908 | |
| Born | Sarah Ann Silcock 26 August 1848 |
| Died | 14 September 1943 (aged 95) Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| Other name | Sarah Ann McMurray |
| Known for | Wood carving |
| Spouse |
Robert McMurray
(m. 1872; died 1927) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent(s) | Simon Bonnet Silcock and Susannah Flower |
| Relatives | Alfred Saunders (uncle) Sarah Page (cousin) Samuel Saunders (cousin) |
| Signature | |
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Biography
Sarah Ann Silcock was born in Nelson, New Zealand, on 26 August 1848,[3] the third of 14 children.[4] She was the daughter of Susannah Silcock (née Flower) and Captain Simon Bonnet Silcock.[5] Her mother immigrated from England with her parents and sister Rhoda Flower,[6] arriving in New Zealand on the Sir Charles Forbes in 1842.[7] Rhoda Flower later married Alfred Saunders, a prominent politician and advocate for women's suffrage.[8]
On September 12, 1871, she married Robert McMurray.[9] Born in Northern Ireland, he had emigrated to Australia and subsequently to the Otago goldfields.[10] Following their marriage, they resided at his farm, "Thorneycroft," in Brightwater.[11] They had six children.[3] Later they lived for some time in dense forest in the Inangahua Valley on the West Coast of the South Island. In the 1880s they moved to a farm in Awahuri in the North Island.[5] She was among the signatories to New Zealand's 1893 women's suffrage petition.[3] Later moving to Wanganui.[5]
She began wood carving as a hobby and later, at 50, she enrolled in a local technical college to develop her wood carving skills.[11][5] She was prolific and elaborately carved most of the furnishings in her house.[12][5]
In 1914 her and husband Robert McMurray moved to Palmerston North. She continued her woodcarving in Palmerston North working in the garden shed. She worked mainly in kauri.[5] She also handmade toys for her children and grandchildren one of which is in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[13]
Death
McMurray died at her home on Ada Street in Palmerston North on 14 September 1943, aged 95.[14][15] She is buried at Terrace End Cemetery next to her husband, who died in 1927.[3][16]
