Mothers of the Present: Christchurch women and the vote

On 19 September 1893 women in New Zealand got the vote. Campaigners, led by Kate Sheppard, had fought for years for Māori and Pakeha women’s suffrage.

The Press editorial on 20 September 1893 stated:

We believe that a very large number of women do not desire to vote. [1]

Election day was Tuesday 28 November 1893. The Press reported:

The pretty dresses of the ladies and their smiling faces lighted up the polling booths most wonderfully, and one envied the returning officer and poll clerks whose duty it was to pass in review such a galaxy of beauty.[2]

About 10,000 Christchurch women voted, with only a few incidents:

At the Provincial Council Chamber some peculiar scenes took place. In one instance a man and his wife and daughter came to vote. The man first wished to go into the recess to instruct his wife how to vote. The poll clerks removed him. Then he went into where his daughter was recording her vote and wished to instruct her. This also he was prevented from doing much to his chagrin.[3]

40 years later the first woman was elected into the New Zealand Parliament. Christchurch woman Elizabeth McCombs had been heavily involved in working for the community. She won the Lyttelton seat in a by-election September 1933, after the death of her husband James. She held the seat until her death in June 1935. [4]

Elizabeth Reid McCombs, née Henderson (1873-1935) [between 1919 and 1925] CCL PhotoCD 6, IMG0028

100 years after women got the vote, the Kate Sheppard National Memorial was unveiled by Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard. The words on the Memorial end with the words of The White Ribbon editor, Nelly Perryman, from 1918:

We, the mothers of the present need to impress upon our children’s minds how the women of the past wrestled and fought, suffered and wept, prayed and believed, agonised and won for them the freedom they enjoy today.[5]

Kate Sheppard National Memorial. Flickr 2014-09-19-IMG_2212

Suffrage resources

• Find information about women’s suffrage in New Zealand in our collection
• Kate Sheppard
• The Kate Sheppard National Memorial
• Elizabeth McCombs
• Unsung heroines: Biographies of Christchurch women
• A to Z of Christchurch people
• Photos of Christchurch women

References

[1] Woman’s Franchise, The Press, Volume L, Issue 8592, 20 September 1893, page 4

[2] Polling Day in Christchurch, The Press, Volume L, Issue 8652, 29 November 1893, page  5

[3] Polling Day in Christchurch, The Press, Volume L, Issue 8652, 29 November 1893, page  5

[4] Death of Mrs E. R. McCombs, The Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21493, 7 June 1935, page 13

[5] The Kate Sheppard National Memorial

This feature was first published in our quarterly magazine, uncover – huraina. It is our newest channel to help you explore and celebrate the resources, content, events, programmes and people of Christchurch City Libraries, Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi.

Trailblazers – New Zealand Women and the Vote

Copy of NZ Women Suffragettes Petition to Parliament

New Zealand suffrage campaigners led by Kate Sheppard have been described as “Trailblazers”  in their fight for New Zealand women to achieve the right to vote.

After a 7-year-long campaign this right was finally achieved when, on the 19th September 1893, a new Electoral Act was enacted allowing New Zealand women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. This was no mean feat as in most other democratic countries women did not gain this right until after the end of the First World War.

Let us celebrate this extraordinary achievement by exercising our right to vote in the forthcoming election. There is no better way of honouring the sacrifices and struggles of our sisters all those years ago than by ensuring that we are all enrolled to vote and exercise that right in this year’s election This, my sisters, is my challenge to you.

Check out the display at Shirley Library which celebrates the way in which women’s suffrage was achieved, as well as capturing some of the hostility and opposition that the movement encountered.

     

•  Information about the forthcoming general election, including the locations and times you can do advance voting at some of our libraries.

Suffrage City

120 years ago today – 19 September 1893 – women in New Zealand got the vote.

And 20 years ago today this Christchurch landmark – the Kate Sheppard Memorial – was unveiled.

Kia ora to all the women who fought so hard for us to get the vote.

Public notice for a meeting on the present and outlook of woman’s suffrage to be held at the Oddfellows Hall, Lichfield Street, Chch. 20 Oct. 1892

Some of the first women voters entering the Tuam Street hall. November 1893.

Our suffrage related stuff

• Kate Sheppard Memorial
• Kate Sheppard
• Women in the Council Chamber
• Unsung heroines
• A  to Z of Christchurch people
• Photos of Christchurch women
• Previous blog posts on suffrage and White Camellia Day

More on votes for women

• New Zealand women and the vote (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 1-Sep-2013
• DigitalNZ suffrage sets

Suffrage 2010 – New Zealand women, first in the world

Come along and find out if your great-granny was a suffragist!

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is celebrating Suffrage 2010 in style.

With the support of Archives New Zealand, Christchurch City Council and Wellington City Council, they’ve organised a programme to raise awareness of Suffrage Day and the significance of New Zealand being the first country in the world where women could vote.

Transcripts of the 1893 Suffrage petition will be available at a special suffrage display at the Central Library from 20 September to 3 October.

There’s also a new section on the website about Māori Women and the Vote, honouring the active role of  Māori women suffragists.

See our earlier post for more information on New Zealand heroines like Kate Sheppard and Ada Wells.