Born in Scotland to gamekeeper James France and his wife Marion McArthur, Margaret was twenty-four years old when she arrived in the colony aboard the Signet in 1854. In 1861 she married widower Thomas Sharrow, a Crimean War veteran, builder, sawmill proprietor and undertaker.
The marriage brought her to the Colac district and to a new role as mother to Thomas's young son, John. Over the following years she welcomed five children of her own, creating a busy family at the heart of the growing community.
Margaret's life was marked by both joy and sorrow. Having raised John as her own son, she endured the heartbreak of losing him when he drowned in Pirron Yallock Creek in 1873, aged just fourteen. Yet there were happier years ahead as her sons married and she became a grandmother.
Margaret was one of four members of her family to sign the 1891 suffrage petition, joining two daughters and a daughter-in-law in supporting a cause that would eventually change the lives of women across Victoria.
The Sharrow family were well known and highly regarded in Colac. Margaret's kindness and quiet contribution to family and community earned her the affection of many. When she died following a paralytic stroke in 1896, large numbers gathered at the Colac Cemetery to pay their respects.
Today, Margaret is remembered not only as a suffrage petition signatory, but as a migrant, mother, grandmother and respected member of the Colac community. Thomas, who died in 1903, rests beside her in the Colac Cemetery.

Research by Stephen Brooks
Story by Stephen Brooks

© 2026 Colac & District Family History Group Inc.
All rights reserved.

Life stories have been researched and compiled by the Colac & District Family History Group Inc. and its independent contributors. This material must not be copied or reproduced without permission. AI tools have been used to assist.

For more information, please contact the Colac & District Family History Group Inc.