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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 suffragettes, anti-suffrage challenges, the final victory and women’s issues and rights today. SCIS no. 1867870

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Women’s suffrage

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

Suffrage 125

The Suffrage 125 Whakatu Wahine logo.

Women's suffrage plaque

Women's suffrage plaque

A living memorial to the first 100 years of women's suffrage in New Zealand 1893-1993.

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.

Womens suffrage

Womens suffrage

NZ women and their bicycles

NZ women and their bicycles

Ladies of Aotearoa, enjoying the freedom and delight of two wheels since ages ago.

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.

Suffragists

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

Twitter archive for Women's March #womensmarch

This file contains a data set of 38606 tweets tagged with #womensmarch (case not sensitive) that were published on Twitter between 21/01/2017 20:45:23 and 22/01/2017 08:16:53 GMT

Women’s march

Women’s march

Digital cartoon by Mark Winter on women’s political and social protest.

Suffrage petition

Suffrage petition

The 1893 women’s suffrage petition.

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.

New Zealand's first woman MP elected

The Labour Party’s Elizabeth McCombs became New Zealand’s first woman Member of Parliament.

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.

The summit

The summit at last, a suffrage cartoon.

Young English suffragist

Young English suffragist

Young English suffragette arrested by two policemen.

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

Showing 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.

Our woman suffrage

Article on women suffrage and the ‘weaker’ sex.

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).

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...

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...

Eight vignettes of role reversals

Eight vignettes of role reversals

Eight vignettes of role reversals. Exhibited in 'Harpies & Heroines: A cartoon history of the changing roles of women in New Zealand' Exhibition curated by Rachel Macfarlane and Cerridwyn Young of...

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...

Women in the archives

A series of historical images depicting New Zealand women.

‘This ain’t a damn beauty contest. If you come into politics to be popular, then you’ve picked the wrong sport’, Jenny Shipley declared. New Zealand’s first woman PM came to power in 1997 after sta...

A biography of Helen Clark

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

The long road from a house to the house

“No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent.”

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’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.

Women's suffrage movement

A Pinterest suffrage images board.

New Zealand suffrage history

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

Women's suffrage in the UK

Latest articles about women's suffrage in the UK.

Universal suffrage hits New Zealand

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

NZ women's historic vote a chance to identify next changes

Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter is calling on women across the country to celebrate the 125th anniversary of New Zealand women getting the vote.

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.

British women's suffrage

New coin to mark 100 years of voting.

What is women's suffrage?

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

The Kate Sheppard memorial

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

The British women's suffrage movement

In the nineteenth century, women had no place in national politics.

A country that wouldn’t let women vote till 1971.

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.

That Bloody Woman

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

A song about women’s suffrage inspired by Alice Paul.

Art and the suffrage movement

How women championed their cause through art.

Suffrage colouring image album

Album of suffrage colouring-in images.

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.

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.

Militant suffragettes: morally justified or just terrorists?

Between 1912 and 1914, a group of British suffragettes called the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)launched a campaign of militant action.

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

New Zealanders and the British suffrage movement

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

The death of Emily Davison

A video about the death of suffragette, Emily Davison.

Art responds to women's suffrage

The battle for suffrage attracted women who were unconventional and boldly challenging the status quo.

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

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

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia : leader among women in Aotearoa New Zealand

In the year 1897 Māori women achieved the right to vote and to stand as members in the Kotahitanga parliament, thanks to Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia.

Backgrounds the 'Suffragette' movie by UK director Sarah Gavron about the women's movement for the right to vote in the UK in the early 1900s.

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...

Exploring 125 years of women's suffrage in New Zealand, and the challenges that women face in a society where the rules continue to shift.

Maori women voting for the first time

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.

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.

Standing in the sunshine

Standing in the sunshine

Four-part series Standing in the Sunshinecharted the journey of Kiwi women over a century from September 1893.

Women's Franchise Petitions 1892 and 1893

When Governor Glasgow signed the Electoral Bill on 19 September 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing nation in the world where women had won the right to vote. The Bill was the outcome...

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.

Women’s suffrage

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

Female suffrage

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

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.

Cruel anti-suffragette cartoons

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

Research papers

We the undersigned

An analysis of signatories to the 1893 women's suffrage petition from southern Dunedin.

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.

Women’s suffrage in America

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

The definition of a woman in 1893

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

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.

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...

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.

Find more information on this topic on EPIC. Some databases recommended: World History in Context, Britannica School, New Zealand Geographic and New Zealand History Collection. School login maybe ...

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.

Women’s suffrage (New Zealand

Many Answers has pages to guide you to reviewed websites and databases on Women’s Suffrage (New Zealand).

Student resource: study ideas, questions and activities

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

Katherine Wilson Sheppard

A biography of Kate Sheppard.

Crusade for the vote

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

Finding Rosie NZ

Stories from New Zealand women engineers from all walks of life, as they talk about what they do and their love of engineering.

Featured lesson plans

Lesson plans on women’s suffrage for primary, upper primary and intermediate school.

Suffrage Day resources

Infographics, social media, pins, imagery and posters from the New Zealand Ministry for Women.

Votes for women

Explore short articles, scrapbooks, political pamphlets, photographs and posters to discover how suffragists and suffragettes fought for their democratic right in the UK.

Renewable energy

A Pinterest renewable energy board.

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 Women’s Suffrage Petition

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

Women in Aotearoa

Women in Aotearoa

Women have made their mark in Aotearoa through sports, the boardroom, politics and also as academics, writers, leaders and artists. Research how feminist movements fought for voting rights, equal p...

New Zealand Protest

New Zealand Protest

New Zealand has seen many demonstrations, strikes, marches and campaigns by protesters voicing opinions against wars, laws and events. Explore activists and protests like Bastion Point, The Land Ma...

New Zealand History

New Zealand History

The Māori were the first settlers of Aotearoa, followed by the Europeans. Discover the history of New Zealand’s landscape, its people, events, places, identity and cultures from sites like Te Ara, ...

Colonial Life in New Zealand

Colonial Life in New Zealand

Colonial New Zealand covers the years 1769-1914. The resources include European discovery of New Zealand, contact with Māori, New Zealand wars, Pākehā colonisation, social life, economy, politics a...

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