Eleanora Wotton is buried in the plot of her father, Captain Clifford Iveson, at the Heads Rd cemetery.
Eleanora Wotton is buried in the plot of her father, Captain Clifford Iveson, at the Heads Rd cemetery.
The search is on for descendants of a Whanganui woman being honoured by the Belgian government for her work on the home front during World War I.
Eleanora Angelina Wotton was in charge of the Belgian and Serbian Relief Society in Whanganui, organising fundraisers and donations of food and clothing.
Wotton sent the funds and goods to her friend, Beatrice Maunder, a New Zealand nurse who directed military hospitals in Belgium.
The Belgian government awarded Wotton the Medaille de la Reine Elisabeth (Queen Elisabeth Medal) in recognition of her work.
Now the government is placing plaques on the graves of the 33 New Zealand medal recipients and the organisers want to talk to Wotton's descendants about her grave in the Heads Rd Cemetery.
Beatrice Maunder, on behalf of the Belgian government, presents Nora Wotton with the Queen Elisabeth Medal.
Historian Imelda Bargas, who works for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, said the grave project has been "a labour of love" for her over the past four years.
"It started at the beginning of the World War I centenary," Bargas said.
"I was working with Tim Shoebridge on a book on World War I heritage and looking for places that could tell the story of home front experiences.
"I struggled to find one about the home effort that went on in New Zealand to provide financial and in-kind support to Belgium but then I came across this group of women.
"I went to visit a grave of one of the women and it was overgrown and that kicked it off. There was an amazing group of women who did all this work but no-one would know."
Since then Bargas has worked with the Belgium Embassy and consuls to locate the women's graves and have them restored and marked. The work has been completed in Dunedin, where 25 of the 33 women lived, and Wellington and now the push is on to mark graves in other locations to record that the women received the Queen Elisabeth Medal.
"We want to make sure that if there are living descendants looking after the grave it isn't done without them knowing about it," Bargas said.
"Most descendants we have found had no idea these women had done so much during the war. Many knew about what their male relatives did but not about the women."
Born in Whanganui on August 21, 1872, to Clifford Iveson and Angelina Iveson (nee Williamson), Eleanora married Percy Wotton in 1893.
The couple lived at Tutaenui, Marton, for many years before Eleanora moved back to Whanganui. Their children were Egbert Henry Miller Wotton (born 1894), Margaret Winifred Wotton (1896), George Cecil Wotton (1900), Henry William Wotton (1910) and Ian (Jack) Athelstan Wotton (1912). Eleanora died on January 4, 1938.
Any descendants of Eleanora Angelina Wotton are asked to contact Imelda Bargas on 027 807 5092 or email imelda.bargas@mch.govt.nz.
An obituary for Eleanora Wotton was published in the Wanganui Herald on January 8, 1938. Some excerpts are below:
"During the Great War, Mrs Wotton ... became very well-known as a tireless worker in patriotic work on behalf of the oppressed Belgians and Serbs. Mention of Mrs Wotton will, no doubt, serve to recall for many Wanganui residents street days, bazaars and 'baby shows' held and organised by her and an enthusiastic band of helpers.
"After the war Mrs Wotton continued her interest in all forms of social work. Many knew her as an enthusiastically active member of the Victoria League, the Plunket Society, the Girl Guides, the Townswomen's Guild, the Early Settlers' Association and the Navy League.
"The unselfish life of Mrs Wotton became a byword among those who enjoyed her acquaintance. Her progress along the road of life was marked by many little acts of kindness on the wayside, and it is worthy to note that she often acted the Good Samaritan when she herself suffered pain. The later period of her life was not good but she continued in her activities in the welfare of others."
Nurses fundraising in Whanganui for overseas facilities.
