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Women's Suffrage

New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote. Explore resources that cover the history of the campaign, petitions, leading suffragists, anti-suffrage challenges, the final victory and women’s issues and rights today. SCIS no. 1867870

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Suffrage petition

Suffrage petition

The 1893 women’s suffrage petition.

Woman about to cast her electoral vote for the first time

Woman about to cast her electoral vote for the first time

Woman about to cast her electoral vote for the first time, ca 4 December 1935. Photographer unidentified. Copy negative taken from New Zealand Free Lance, 4 December, 1935, page 34. (Original cap...

Women's suffrage (New Zealand)

Women's suffrage (New Zealand)

On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country to enfranchise women or give women the right to vote. Voting rights for women or women’s suffrage began in the late 19th cen...

Votes for women teaching resource

Use these New Zealand Electoral Commission teaching units to connect the suffragists’ achievement to how voters engage with and take part in democracy today.

Kate Sheppard: study ideas, questions and activities

New Zealand Edge presents study ideas, questions and activities for research and discussion about Kate Sheppard.

Women, the vote and activism

The Suffrage 125 celebration is an opportunity to remember the suffragists and what they fought for and reflect on women’s rights today.

Celebrating 125 Years of Women's Suffrage (2018)

Infographics from the New Zealand Ministry for Women.

Women voting

Original caption reads: "Women vote at their first election, Tahakopa". Shows a horse drawn carriage, and an unidentified group of men and women standing by the entrance to a building. Taken in 189...

Women's suffrage stamp

Women's suffrage stamp

As well as appearing on out $10 note, women's suffragist Kate Sheppard features in The A to Z of New Zealand stamp series produced by New Zealand Post in 2008.

Mere Ruiha Hakaraia/Mary Bevan’s signature on the 1893 Suffrage Petition

Download this Curiosity Card and use the resources and fertile questions to inspire inquiry about the topic of Women’s Suffrage in New Zealand.

KATE SHEPPARD

SUFFRAGIST & SOCIAL REFORMER Katherine Wilson Sheppard 1847 - 1934 For six years Kate led the fight to secure the vote for New Zealand women. She was an energetic and highly organised leader and he...

MERI TE TAI MANGAKAHIA

MERI TE TAI MANGAKAHIA

WOMAN OF MANA AND SUFFRAGIST Meri Te Tai Mangakahia 1868 – 1920 Te Rarawa Meri Te Tai was a descendant of Te Rarawa chiefs of the highest mana from Waihou, northern Hokianga. She went to school at ...

What really happened – votes for women

What really happened – votes for women

This fly on the wall docudrama reimagines Kate Sheppard‘s final campaign to grant all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

Womens suffrage

Womens suffrage

Petition for women's suffrage

Petition for women's suffrage

Petitions had an important role in 19thcentury politics, particularly for women who could not use the vote to express their views.

Women's Suffrage Centennial, 1993

Women's Suffrage Centennial, 1993

‘Summits for Suffrage’ walkers at peak of Mount Climie.

Sound archives: suffrage day

Sound archives: suffrage day

National prohibition of alcohol and rowdiness at the polling booths were some of the predictions about what would happen once New Zealand women got the vote for the first time in 1893.

National Council of Women

National Council of Women

On 13 April 1896, the National Council of Women was inaugurated in Christchurch. The first president of the council was Kate Sheppard.

50 years of women's liberation in NZ

50 years of women's liberation in NZ

Deb Nation explores the archives to celebrate the Women's Conventions which radicalised country ladies, rape victims and feminist separatists alike, 50 years ago.

Young English suffragist

Young English suffragist

Young English suffragette arrested by two policemen.

Suffragists

A collection of images used on Te Ara and NZ History about women's suffrage.

Portrait of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia

Portrait of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia

Suffragettes in London

Suffragettes in London

A large protest march by suffragettes in London.

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Ring out the old, ring in the new

A young woman and cherub heralding the promises that women's suffrage brings for women and children in future years, as jaded masculinity fades away in the background.

How far we've come

How far we've come

New Zealand suffrage cartoon by Sharon Murdoch.

On 19 September 1893, when the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the right to vote to all adult ...

Voting rights cartoon

Voting rights cartoon

Digital cartoon by Chicane on political and social issues in New Zealand and internationally. Title from file name Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).

Wāhine Māori and the right to vote

Wāhine Māori and the right to vote

Images and articles on wāhine Māori and the suffrage movement.

The day Māori women first got to vote – as told by some creepy guy

The day Māori women first got to vote – as told by some creepy guy

Aren't Can't Don't: 125 years after New Zealand women won the right to vote, we take a look at what the first polling day looked like for Māori women... sort of. Today is the 125th anniversary of...

Pacific celebration of the 125th anniversary of suffrage in New Zealand

How do we acknowledge and recognise appropriately Pacific women in the celebration of the 125th year of Women’s Suffrage in New Zealand?

Sisterhood special

Sisterhood special

Shows the Queen sitting at a table wearing a birthday party hat. She has a stamp in one hand, with ``93 Sisterhood special' on it, which she has stamped on the New Zealand Honours list'. Refers t...

The Summit at last

The Summit at last

An engraving from The New Zealand Graphic, Saturday, 21 July, 1894, depicting a woman holding a flag which reads: Perfect Political Equality. A man is helping her up to what is labelled as the Parl...

Pay equity cartoon

Pay equity cartoon

Under the heading 'She's got your number', shows a billboard featuring the New Zealand ten dollar note with the startled face of Kate Sheppard. John Key and another figure are using red paint to re...

New Zealand's first woman MP elected

The Labour Party’s Elizabeth McCombs became New Zealand’s first female Member of Parliament, winning a by-election in the Lyttelton seat caused by the death of her husband, James McCombs.

Māori women's suffrage day celebrated

The 1893 election was the first-time women were able to vote which on 28 November was in the general electorates, and on 20 December in the Māori electorates.

Women in the archives

A series of historical images depicting New Zealand women.

New Zealand’s first woman PM, Jenny Shipley came to power in 1997 after staging a carefully planned coup against Jim Bolger.

A biography of Helen Clark

Jenny Shipley may have been our first female PM, but Helen Clark was the first elected one.

Women's suffrage

This site provides historical context, teaching suggestions, links to online resources, and more.

International Women’s Day

A blog post paying homage to New Zealand women who have sought to create change through their work.

Women celebrate 125 years of suffrage

Hundreds of New Zealand women clad in purple and white crammed into Government House's ballroom today to mark 125 years of women's suffrage.

Women vote in Māori seats for first time

Just over three weeks after New Zealand women became the first in the world to vote in a national parliamentary election, voting was held in the four Māori electorates.

Women’s suffrage

Countries in 1917 that had women’s suffrage.

Saudi Arabia women

Saudi Arabia's women vote in an election for the first time.

Votes for women

Pardoning suffragettes 'complicated'.

Women's suffrage source of pride

Of the total 31,872 suffrage petition signatories, just 21 men are known to have signed.

The Kate Sheppard memorial

The Kate Sheppard Memorial was unveiled on 19 September 1993, by the Governor General, Dame Catherine Tizard.

New Zealand suffrage history

It was an enormous struggle for New Zealand suffragists led by Kate Sheppard to get the vote.

Universal suffrage hits New Zealand

It was September 19, 1893, a day that would go down in history.

Karen Walker pays homage to suffragettes

Karen Walker is intrigued by the way suffragettes used their clothing as placards to fight for the vote both here and overseas.

What is women's suffrage?

A video explaining the legal right for women to vote in elections.

British women's suffrage

New coin to mark 100 years of voting.

Suffrage colouring image album

Album of suffrage colouring-in images.

That Bloody Woman

A musical showing a side of Kate Sheppard you've never seen.

Suffragette London

Images of London suffragette campaigners and the suffragette movement.

Women’s suffrage petition

In 1893 Aotearoa/New Zealand became the first country in the world in which all women gained the right to vote in general elections.

Opposition to suffrage

Opposing votes for women may seem surprising today, but anti-suffrage views dominated among men and women through the early twentieth century.

New Zealanders and the British suffrage movement

Find out how New Zealand citizens contributed to the suffrage movement in Britain.

Interview with Mrs Perryman, suffrage campaigner and editor of the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union newspaper.

Kate Sheppard is recognised as the leader of the fight to win the right for New Zealand women to vote.

The day NZ's 'shrieking sisterhood' forced the vote on 'womenly women'

On September 19, 1893, NZ lawmakers made global history by giving women the right to vote. The Press proved to be on the wrong side of history when the following day it condemned the "shrieking si...

Three elderly women living in Auckland are interviewed about casting their first vote in the general election on November 28, 1893.

The 1893 election

An Auckland run down of voter turn-out for the first NZ general election where women were allowed to vote.

Women's Social and Political Union Medal for Valour

This medal is associated with the struggle of British women to win voting rights (Suffrage) in the early years of the 20th century.

Bread & Roses

Made to mark 100 years of women's suffrage in New Zealand, Bread & Rosestells the story of the pioneering trade unionist, politician and feminist Sonja Davies.

Female suffrage

President Roosevelt refuses to accept petition from Women’s Suffrage Congress.

Cruel anti-suffragette cartoons

Throughout history, there were people who did not want women to vote.

Women’s suffrage

Suffragettes imprisoned for attempting to storm Parliament House in London in 1908

Women's suffrage: a short history of a great movement

Women’s suffrage: a short history of a great movement by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.

NZ’s suffragettes

Video celebrating 125 years of women’s right to vote.

Digitising the 1893 women's suffrage petition

Digitising the 1893 women's suffrage petition

In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote. Signatures for 13 separate petitions were collected by women throughout the country and the presentation ...

The definition of a woman in 1893

How did they define 'Women' then? Who was included and excluded in this definition?

The Women's Suffrage Petition, 1893

This book tells the story of the Women’s Suffrage movement and campaign in New Zealand. Read this book and others on this topic from the New Zealand History Collection available through EPIC. Scho...

Women’s suffrage in America

Biographies, interviews, essays, and legal implications of women in American politics and society.

The fight to vote. School Journal: Year 7: L4: 2017

Susan Paris writes about fight for the right to vote in New Zealand. Also included is a timeline for women’s voting and entry into politics in other countries.

Katherine Wilson Sheppard

A biography of Kate Sheppard.

He Māngai Wāhine – The Women’s Voices

This documentary is the story of Māori women who have been forgotten by the mainstream narrative but not by Māori, for their involvement in the suffragette movement.

Hungry for rights

Kiwi suffragette Frances Parker’s defiant stand for women in the United Kingdom. Find this article in New Zealand Geographic, available through EPIC. School login maybe required.

Our Kates reflect on Kate Sheppard

What do Te Papa’s five Kates (well, four Kates and a Katie) have to say about their famous namesake, Kate Sheppard, who successfully led the quest for New Zealand women to gain the right to vote?

Crusade for the vote

History and timeline of women’s suffrage in the United States, including educational resources and primary sources.

Give Kate a voice

A number of influential New Zealand women from different walks of life share words from speeches written by Kate Sheppard.

The Women’s Suffrage Petition

Use resources and activities from He Tohu to learn about this landmark event in New Zealand’s history.

Pao Pao Pao – essay by Tina Makareti

An excerpt by Tina Makereti from the book Women Now: The Legacy of Female Suffrage.

Birth of a nation: how Australia empowering women taught the world a lesson

An article about Vida Goldstein who travelled to Washington in 1902 as Australia and New Zealand’s sole delegate to the International Woman Suffrage Conference.

Women’s Suffrage Petition

See the places across New Zealand that sheets of the Women's Suffrage Petition were sent to gather signatures.

Aboriginal women and the vote

While the right to vote under colonial laws was extended to South Australian Aboriginal women in 1894, they were often not informed of this right or supported to enrol to vote.

March of the women: photographing the suffragettes

The campaign to win British women the right to vote was a long and hard-fought one. Many events were captured by Christina Broom, pioneering female photographer.

Votes for women: A portrait of persistence

Learn about the struggle of American women to win the right to vote.

World suffrage timeline

A timeline showing when countries around the world granted women the right to vote.

An award-winning series of podcasts from RNZ that explore 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.

Shades of militancy: the forgotten suffragettes

Women from all backgrounds were drawn to the suffragette campaign in Britain.

Pacific celebration of the 125th Anniversary of suffrage in New Zealand

An article by Hon Aupito William Sio about the history of female leaders throughout the Pacific.

Women’s suffrage

On 18 December 1894 the South Australian Parliament passed the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act that granted women the right to vote and to stand for parliament.

Women’s suffrage guide

This Women’s Suffrage Inquiry Exemplar is a curated set of quality resources designed to inspire and support approaches to teaching through inquiry.

The bicycle and women’s suffrage

The bicycle and women’s suffrage

A new type of bicycle appeared in the late 1880s. The safety bicycle was relatively small, comfortable to ride, and played a role in women’s emancipation.

women's suffrage in Switzerland

Swiss women were granted finally given the right to vote and stand for election on 7 February 1971 — 53 years after Germany, 52 after Austria, 27 after France and 26 after Italy.

Suffrage Day, the long road from a house to the House

It took courage for 24,000 New Zealand women to put their signatures to the 1893 Suffrage Petition.

Research papers

We the undersigned : an analysis of signatories to the 1893 women's suffrage petition from southern Dunedin

This thesis examines the impact of the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition on a particular community in New Zealand. The weight of political, religious and socioeconomic influences in the milieu of comm...

Find more information about the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand from EPIC. Databases recommended: New Zealand Geographic Online, New Zealand History Collection (BWB), and Women's Studies C...

Kate Sheppard and the making of a New Zealand feminist icon

It’s important we don’t see Kate Sheppard as the only woman worthy of being on a pedestal.

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