Marion Hatton ( Hanover; 8 September 1835 – 6 June 1905) was a New Zealand suffragist.

Early life

Hatton was born in Preston, Somerset, England on 8 September 1835 to Elizabeth Stenner and Robert Hanover. As a young woman, she was involved with Sunday-school work, and she campaigned for

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

with the

Band of Hope Hope UK is a United Kingdom Christian charity based in London, England which educates children and young people about drug and alcohol abuse. Local meetings started in 1847 and a formal organisation was established in 1855 with the name The Uni ...

. She worked as a milliner. On 7 October 1855 she married Joseph Hatton, an accountant. They went to Amsterdam and founded a lodge for the temperance organisation

Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

. At some point, the Hattons emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Dunedin.

Suffrage movement

On 12 April 1892, Hatton chaired a meeting in Dunedin 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 ...

. She became one of two presidents and the working leader of the Dunedin Franchise League, which was founded two weeks later. The Franchise League campaigned against the anti-suffrage politician

Henry Fish Henry Smith Fish (15 July 1838 – 23 September 1897) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. For a time, he was a member of the Liberal Party. He was Mayor of Dunedin for a total of six years. Smith is remembered as one of the staunch opp ...

's bid for the mayoralty of Dunedin later in 1892. "Rejoice with us", Hatton wrote, "we have beaten Mr Fish". Hatton became the principal speaker for the Franchise League, and travelled throughout the southern half of the South Island with

Helen Nicol Helen Nicol (later Fox; May 9, 1920 – July 25, 2021) was a Canadian-American baseball pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , , Nicol batted and threw right-handed. She was ...

speaking at suffrage meetings and organising petitions requesting the government to enact women's suffrage. The Dunedin Franchise League collected more signatures than any other area. A bill to do so was passed by the Legislative Council on 8 September 1893 – Hatton's birthday. A celebratory meeting was held in the Dunedin City Hall with a "thousand handkerchiefs waving for victory". Hatton next worked to make sure as many women as possible were on the electoral rolls for the general election on 28 November 1893. During the winter of 1895, Hatton and other members of the League ran soup kitchens for the unemployed. Hatton continued to work for equality of women with men. She was particularly concerned that women should receive

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

. In 1896, Hatton suggested that a co-ordinating body be set up for women's societies in New Zealand, and this led to the formation of the National Council of Women. She attended its inaugural conference in Christchurch, on 13 April 1896.Grimshaw, p 112

Later life

Hatton suffered from heart disease and her health deteriorated. Her philanthropic work may have contributed to this. She died on 6 June 1905, survived by her husband, five sons, and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatton, Marion 1835 births 1905 deaths New Zealand suffragists People from West Somerset (district) English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand people