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The 1893 women's suffrage petition was the third of three petitions to the
He Tohu
' exhibition. It remains, however, under the care of the Chief Archivist and
New Zealand suffrage milestones
{{Authority control Political history of New Zealand Women's rights in New Zealand Memory of the World Register in New Zealand Feminism in New Zealand 1893 in women's history 1893 documents
The 1893 women's suffrage petition was the third of three petitions to the New Zealand Government
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, country = New Zealand
, leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
, appointed = Governor-General
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in support of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and resulted in the Electoral Act 1893, which gave women the right to vote in the 1893 general election. The 1893 petition was substantially larger than the 1891 petition, which had around 9,000 signatures, and larger still than the 1892 petition, which contained some 20,000 signatures. The third petition was the largest petition presented to Parliament at that point with nearly 32,000 signatures. The petition was signed in various parts of the country by women, aged 21 or older, who signed their names and addresses.
The petition was submitted to Parliament on 28 July 1893. The main petition has more than 500 individual sheets together to form a roll which stretched more than . There were another 12 smaller petitions which have not survived.
Politicians John Hall John Hall may refer to:
Academics
* John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic
* John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal
* John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
, Alfred Saunders, and Premier John Ballance
John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician who was the 14th premier of New Zealand, from January 1891 to April 1893, the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organised political part ...
were all in favour of women's suffrage, but the effort was largely led by the New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
led by Kate Sheppard
Katherine Wilson Sheppard ( Catherine Wilson Malcolm; 10 March 1848 – 13 July 1934) was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. Born in Liverpool, England, she emi ...
from 1887.
The petition is on display at the National Library of New Zealand
The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...
in Wellington as part of the He Tohu
' exhibition. It remains, however, under the care of the Chief Archivist and
Archives New Zealand
Archives New Zealand (Māori: ''Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga'') is New Zealand's national archive and the official guardian of its public archives. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 and ...
. It has been on the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Memory of the World
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
register since 1997.
The 1891 petition has not survived but the 1892 petition is held by Archives New Zealand.
References
Further reading
* *External links
New Zealand suffrage milestones
{{Authority control Political history of New Zealand Women's rights in New Zealand Memory of the World Register in New Zealand Feminism in New Zealand 1893 in women's history 1893 documents