Peg Griffin

BIOGRAPHY

Peg Griffin was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 25 May 1904. Much of Peg’s early life was spent in Wellington. Her grandparents lived in a house known as The Gables in Seatoun, and in the late 1920s her father began farming in Waikanae. The family spent weekdays in town and weekends at the farm. When it came time for secondary schooling, Peg became one of the founding pupils of Queen Margaret College in Wellington, which meant the family needed to board in the city during term time. Peg’s love of photography began at a very young age, when her uncle lent her his Box Brownie camera.

In the 1930s, Peg travelled to the United Kingdom. She worked at the Elizabethan Cottage Café, where she met her future husband, Leslie, a beekeeper. The couple settled in a small cottage in Lingfield, just outside London.

Life after the Second World War was difficult, and Peg returned to New Zealand with her three children. Leslie followed later and found work with the Department of Agriculture, while Peg worked from home, sewing covers for lounge suites.

Her younger sister, Betty Rolfe Fleming (29 September 1909 – 6 February 2017), lived to be 107. Their mother lived to the age of 90, their grandmother to 91, and their great-grandmother to 89. On their father’s side, their grandmother reached 90, while their great-grandmother lived to 70.

Peg Griffin passed away at Kapiti Rest Home in Paraparaumu Beach, Wellington Region, New Zealand, on 6 October 2014, at the age of 110 years, 134 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of Maudie Wilson on 24 October 2013, she became the oldest living person in New Zealand. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded by Edith Olive Oldfield (4 December 1906 – 17 August 2015).

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “A Meeting with Peg” – Kapiti Coast Photographic Society, September 2011

* “Peg, 109, raises a glass to a life fulfilled” – Stuff, 24 May 2013

GALLERY

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