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Story: Nation and government

First woman on a jury

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First woman on a jury

This is an article about the first court case in New Zealand to include a woman, a Miss Kingsford, on the jury. Until 1942, women were denied the right to sit on juries, and even then, their service remained voluntary. In 1959 there was a vigorous campaign to put women on the same footing as men regarding jury service. The right of women to claim automatic exemption when called for jury service was eventually cancelled in 1976. Jury service for men and women then became completely equal.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past

Reference: Auckland Star, 15 October 1943, p. 5

Permission of the 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

John Wilson, Nation and government – The legal system, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/2549/first-woman-on-a-jury (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 September 2016.