Story: Parliament

1893 women's suffrage petition

Long roll of paper with writing on it enclosed in a glass case.

Petitions asking that women be allowed to vote were presented to Parliament from the 1880s. This one, with 25,520 signatures, was presented in 1893, the year New Zealand women finally won the vote. As shown here, it is now on display in the He Tohu exhibition in the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa building in Wellington, across the road from the parliamentary complex. A digitised version of the 1893 petition and database of the people who signed the petition is available here.

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How to cite this page:

John E. Martin, 'Parliament - Evolution of Parliament, 19th century', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/47790/1893-womens-suffrage-petition (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by John E. Martin, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Feb 2015