Story: Voting rights

Election-day effigies, Masterton, 1887

Election-day effigies, Masterton, 1887

In the Masterton electorate, election day 1887 attracted unusual attention. A crowd of men and boys, Māori and Pākehā, gathered in Masterton with effigies of the three candidates: George Beetham (the dandy), R. E. Hawkins (the pirate) and Alexander Hogg (the pig). The effigies were auctioned once the election results were known – Beetham won. Why the effigies were made is not known, but by this time all men could vote and share in the excitement elections sometimes provoked.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Albert E. Winzenberg Collection
Reference: 1/2-011707-F
Photograph by Thomas Edward Price

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Neill Atkinson, 'Voting rights - Male suffrage', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36430/election-day-effigies-masterton-1887 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 17 Feb 2015