She lived in
Helensville, where her father was a local solicitor, until about 1928 when
the family moved to Napier as her father had gone into politics and won
the seat there.
She began her
education in Helensville and then continued it in Napier. Her father held
the Napier seat for a long time but when he was appointed Speaker of the
House of Parliament in 1936, the family moved to Wellington and he
travelled between the two cities. Because of her father's duties in the
House and also the amount of entertaining her parents did, largely due to
the fact that the Prime Minister at that time was a single man, it was
thought best for her education that Peg attend boarding school and so she
was sent to Marsden Girls College in Wellington. She apparently hated
being a boarder and couldn't wait to leave school.
She worked in the Navy
Office in Wellington during the war and was also a qualified ballroom
dancing teacher. She was a beautiful dancer. As people said, she was a
very elegant, poised lady and certainly a "stunner" in her youth. She met
Victor James Palmer (born 28th November 1916, Napier, youngest child of
James Charles & Florence Emily Palmer nee Austen) in Wellington in
about 1938 or 39 - she was actually going out with his flatmate at the
time. Vic, as he was known, was studying law at Victoria University. He
qualified in 1940 and immediately joined the Army where he served first as
an infantryman and then very soon transferred as a gunner in the
Artillery. He served throughout Africa, the Middle East and Italy.
Peg and Vic married on
12th July, 1945 in Tauranga where Vic had joined his father-in-law's legal
firm. They had two children, Philip and Louise. From Tauranga, the family
moved to Auckland in about 1962 and then to Brisbane, Australia in
1968.
Peg, Vic and Philip
returned to Auckland in 1975 after Louise married. They again returned to
Australia in 1990 when Vic retired. Vic died on 2nd September 2001 at
Benowa on the Gold Coast and was cremated at Allambie Gardens. Peg died on
the 11th March, 2006 also at Benowa and was cremated on 17th March, 2006
at Allambie Gardens, Nerang. Their ashes were buried in Old Napier
Cemetery in a family grave.
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