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Mary Ann Leigh
Description
TitleMary Ann Leigh
Alternative NameMary Ann PoppleSummaryA woman of Selwyn who signed the 1893 Electoral PetitionDescription1893 Suffrage Petition - page 2
1893 Electoral Roll - no 2229First NameMary Middle NameAnnLast NameLeighDate of Birthabout 25 March 1849Place of BirthLambeth, Surrey, EnglandDate of Death3 May 1927Place of DeathAnnat, Selwyn, Canterbury New ZealandAge at Death78Parents or Next of KinJames Leigh
Mercy Turner
William Terrington PoppleOther Biographical InformationMary Ann Leigh was baptised 25 March 1849, daughter of James Leigh (a Carter) and Mercy Turner, in the parish of St Mary, Lambeth, Surrey. When Mary Ann was aged eleven the family left England as Assisted Emigrants to New Zealand on board the "Zealandia" arriving on November 14 1859. She was the youngest child with an older brother James and sister Elizabeth. In 1871 she married William Terrington Popple. William had come to Canterbury in 1862 on board the Queen of the Mersey. After time on the Nelson and West Coast goldfields he settled at Sheffield and later Springfield where he was Clerk to the Roads Board and Secretary of the Saleyards as well as member of the Plantation board. He was first president of the Annat Band of Hope when it was formed in 1886 and the family continued to play a strong part in the various entertainments and activities, especially Susan and Annie. When the school was established at Annat, Mary took on the contract for cleaning the schoolrooms in 1885. They lost their home in 1889 when it caught fire, burning to the ground, and destroying most of their possessions.
As was expected at the time William was involved in local politics. In 1890 when the Malvern Trades and Labour Union was set up he was elected Secretary. He also stood for a seat in the General Election of that year and in a speech at Lincoln he supported the Liberal leaders of the day and when questioned about Womens Suffrage he said that "He did not think that the women of New Zealand wanted the suffrage. If they did he would be in favour of giving it to them." He did not gain a seat but was presented by his supporters with a purse of nine guineas. (I wonder what Mary Ann thought of that comment.) Mary Ann signed the 1893 Suffrage Petition on page 2 and was enrolled to vote in 1893 as number 2229 on the Roll. Their son William served in the Boer War and second son George Leigh served in the First World War but survived wounds at Gallipoli and the Western Front to return in 1917. Mary Anne died May 3rd 1927, aged 78 and was interred in the Anglican Section of the Kowai Pass cemetery, Springfield beside William who had died eleven months earlier.
Emigration https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSBK-D2R
Star (Christchurch), Issue 5559, 5 March 1886, Page 3
Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 9215, 23 September 1890, Page 4
Alternative NameMary Ann PoppleSummaryA woman of Selwyn who signed the 1893 Electoral PetitionDescription1893 Suffrage Petition - page 21893 Electoral Roll - no 2229
First NameMary Middle NameAnnLast NameLeighDate of Birthabout 25 March 1849Place of BirthLambeth, Surrey, EnglandDate of Death3 May 1927Place of DeathAnnat, Selwyn, Canterbury New ZealandAge at Death78Parents or Next of KinJames LeighMercy Turner
William Terrington Popple
Other Biographical InformationMary Ann Leigh was baptised 25 March 1849, daughter of James Leigh (a Carter) and Mercy Turner, in the parish of St Mary, Lambeth, Surrey. When Mary Ann was aged eleven the family left England as Assisted Emigrants to New Zealand on board the "Zealandia" arriving on November 14 1859. She was the youngest child with an older brother James and sister Elizabeth. In 1871 she married William Terrington Popple. William had come to Canterbury in 1862 on board the Queen of the Mersey. After time on the Nelson and West Coast goldfields he settled at Sheffield and later Springfield where he was Clerk to the Roads Board and Secretary of the Saleyards as well as member of the Plantation board. He was first president of the Annat Band of Hope when it was formed in 1886 and the family continued to play a strong part in the various entertainments and activities, especially Susan and Annie. When the school was established at Annat, Mary took on the contract for cleaning the schoolrooms in 1885. They lost their home in 1889 when it caught fire, burning to the ground, and destroying most of their possessions. As was expected at the time William was involved in local politics. In 1890 when the Malvern Trades and Labour Union was set up he was elected Secretary. He also stood for a seat in the General Election of that year and in a speech at Lincoln he supported the Liberal leaders of the day and when questioned about Womens Suffrage he said that "He did not think that the women of New Zealand wanted the suffrage. If they did he would be in favour of giving it to them." He did not gain a seat but was presented by his supporters with a purse of nine guineas. (I wonder what Mary Ann thought of that comment.) Mary Ann signed the 1893 Suffrage Petition on page 2 and was enrolled to vote in 1893 as number 2229 on the Roll. Their son William served in the Boer War and second son George Leigh served in the First World War but survived wounds at Gallipoli and the Western Front to return in 1917. Mary Anne died May 3rd 1927, aged 78 and was interred in the Anglican Section of the Kowai Pass cemetery, Springfield beside William who had died eleven months earlier.
Emigration https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSBK-D2R
Star (Christchurch), Issue 5559, 5 March 1886, Page 3
Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 9215, 23 September 1890, Page 4
Connections
Subject (Keywords)Suffrage, AnnatPlaceAnnat
PlaceAnnatMilitary Service
Memorial or CemeteryKowai Pass Cemetery, Springfield
Attribution
Mary Ann Leigh. Selwyn Stories, accessed 15/12/2025, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5674
