1893 Women's Suffrage Petition
The 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition was the second of two mass petitions to the New Zealand Government in support of the concept of women's suffrage. The 1893 petition was substantially larger than the 1891 petition and resulted in the Electoral Act of 1893 which gave women the right to vote in the 1893 general election. Politicians John Hall, Alfred Saunders, and Premier, John Ballance were all in favour of women's suffrage, but the effect was largely led by the New Zealand branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union led by Kate Sheppard from 1887.
The physical petition has been on the UNESCO Memory of the World register since 1997.[1][2] It is held at ArchivesNZ.[3]
References
- ^ "The 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". unesco.org. 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
The 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition led to New Zealand becoming the first self-governing nation in the world where women won the right to vote. lt was signed by close to one quarter of the female adult population and was, at that time, the largest petition of its kind signed in New Zealand and other Western countries.
- ^ "NZ Register". unescomow.org.nz. 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ http://archives.govt.nz/events/womens-suffrage