Can you find a white iceberg rose linked to NZ women the vote?
In front of the South Canterbury Museum and Perth Street, diagonally across from the Timaru Council Buildings, is the beautiful Kate Sheppard Memorial Garden. There is also a lovely camelia name for her in the garden.
This was gifted to the city by the citizens of Timaru to celebrate the centennial of Women's Suffrage and there is a remarkable story of why and how Kate Sheppard achieve her goal of getting NZ women the vote. The gardeb was officially opened by Dame Miriam Dell on July 3rd 1993. The plantings follow a purple and white theme - the official suffrage colour. Some fine trees are significant such as the beautiful copper beach. - pressreader.com/the-timaru-herald
South Canterbury celebrated 125 years of Women's Suffrage in 2018. The South Canterbury Museum also performed a re-enactment and, as part of a NCWSC and Zonta-led ceremony, showed and spoke about their suffrage display. The ceremony also involved the planting of the Kate Sheppard camellia at the Kate Sheppard Memorial Garden in Timaru, which, like the Knottingley Park's suffrage garden, was created for the 100th anniversary. The Timaru District Library also had a display on the history of Women's Suffrage. stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/south-canterbury-celebrates-125-years-of-womens-suffrage
Suffragist Movement in New Zealand
- Married women didn’t have control over property that they had brought to their marriage.
- Had to prove aggravated adultery if they wanted a divorce – husbands only had to prove adultery.
- 1875 – Women ratepayers were able to vote in local body elections.
- 1877 – Women were able to stand for school committees and take part in the election of these committees.
- 1869 – Women in Wyoming give franchise.
New Zealand had two houses of Parliament (up to 1851)
- House of Representatives – men elected at general elections
- Upper House (Legislative Council) – men appointed by government – government appointed men who supported the government electoral programme.
- 1869 – John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women – argued for equality between men and women and both should be able to vote. This essay influenced several of the Members of House of Representatives, e.g. Robert Stout, Sir John Hall, Alfred Saunders, Julius Vogel.
- 1879 – All Maori men over 21 were granted the right to vote.
- 1869 – Mary Ann Muller (Blenheim) wrote in Nelson Examiner under pseudonym “Femina”.
- 1877 – Kate Edger first woman university graduate – B.A. – then gained M.A. Late 1880s – Leading figure in Women’s Christian Temperance Union – often held up as an example of an educated woman unable to vote, when the least literate of men were able to vote.
- 1880/1881 – Women’s Franchise Bill failed – showed that to achieve suffrage women needed to organize and demonstrate that they were eager to vote.
From Temperance to Suffrage
Women’s Christian Temperance Union believed that women voters would exercise a moral and reforming influence on laws passed in Parliament. WCTU wanted total abstinence of narcotic poisons, to outlaw traffic in alcohol, opium, tobacco, impurity and suppress gambling law and wanted enfranchisement of all women. WCTU saw violence as a result of drunkenness being a key problem – if women had the vote they could work to limit alcohol consumption. Anne Ward took up a leadership role in WCTU and helped establish unions around the country.
- 1879 – In USA Frances Willard elected WCTU president and she broadened interests from temperance to almost anything that touched women’s lives.
- 1870s – Women Templars established – women able to chair meetings and speak at public meetings – good grounding for them for temperance. WCTU arranged itself into departments, e.g. prison work, evangelism, temperance, franchise.
- 1887 – Kate Sheppard (founding member of Christchurch WCTU) became National Superintendent of New Zealand Franchise and Legislation Department. Kate Sheppard had a good working relationship with Sir John Hall (pro-suffrage) – he was willing to be an advocate in parliament. Hall told Kate Sheppard that women had to demonstrate that they wanted to vote.
- 1890 – Hall introduced Women’s Franchise Bill to the House – lapsed.
Kate Sheppard produced a pamphlet Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote and sent it to every Member of Parliament. Sheppard wrote many articles in different publications – a page in The Prohibitionist, which had a circulation of 20,000, so was an excellent way of publicizing the campaign.