Sarah Ellen Oliver Snow (née Murphy, 16 February 1864 – 13 February 1939) was a New Zealand political activist, feminist and welfare worker. She was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand in 1864. She was on the national executive of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. Together with

Elizabeth McCombs Elizabeth Reid McCombs (née Henderson, 19 November 1873 – 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who in 1933 became the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand women gained the right to vote in ...

, she was voted onto the first executive council of the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

in 1916. She sought the nomination for the electorate for the , but was beaten by

Robert McKeen Robert McKeen (12 July 1884 – 5 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives. Early life He was born in 1884 in Edinburgh and received his education in West Calder, West Loth ...

, who subsequently became the electorate's representative. For a few years from 1927, the national Labour Party conferences were preceded by a Labour Women's Conference, and Snow was the president of these conferences. Snow undertook charitable aid work and was on the Wellington Hospital board. After a hospital board meeting, she was struck by a tram in Riddiford Street outside Wellington Hospital on 19 January 1939. She broke her leg, but died on 13 February; the coroner's verdict was for heart failure caused by the shock of the crash.

References

1864 births 1939 deaths New Zealand feminists New Zealand social workers Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand Labour Party politicians Wellington Hospital Board members Colony of New Zealand people {{NewZealand-bio-stub