World Famous in New Zealand

Social Studies Online

• The first person to spread the idea of women's suffrage in New Zealand was Mary Ann Muller. She wrote many articles about the issue.
• Nineteenth century women were expected to be wives, mothers and take care of the home.
• Colonial women helped men on farms and sometimes in businesses.
• Women were expected to have certain morals and be cultured.
• Women worked very hard.
• Women began to become educated from the 1870's and 1880's.
• In the 1880's there was unemployment, poverty and increasing drunkenness (seen as a major social problem).
• There was a lot of physical violence and economic hardship due to alcohol abuse.
• The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
• The WCTU wore white ribbon badges and set up a newspaper "The White Ribbon".
• The main aim of the WCTU was to try to get laws changed related to alcohol.
• The WCTU also set up kindergartens, soup kitchens, etc.
• They realised that to get laws changed women need to be able to vote in elections.
• A Franchise department was set up within the WCTU and was led by Kate Sheppard.
• Groups of women led suffrage groups around the country to educate the New Zealand public about why women should have the vote.
• Sir John Hall, a politician, helped Kate Sheppard within parliament. For 6 years, he kept trying to get the issue discussed in parliament.
• Pamphlets were distributed about why women wanted the vote.
• Meetings were held around the country about women's suffrage.
• Some men were sympathetic to the suffrage movement and talked to the community.
• Petitions circulated the country for people to sign.
• Five petitions were eventually given to parliament with over 1/3 of the country's women having signed them.
• Many men did not want women to have the vote. Some were worried that they would force a prohibition on alcohol.
• There were some politicians in parliament who believed that woman would have a good influence on voting in parliament.
• The electoral bill, after great debate and delays, was finally passed on 19 September 1893. New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the vote.
• Getting the vote was not the end of the women's movement in New Zealand
• In 1896 the National Council of Women was set up. Their main aims were for equal pay, women to stand for parliament, economic independence for married women, the age of consent to be moved up to 16 and to improve divorce laws.