Story: Voting rights

This segment of Nelson township's 1860 electoral roll published in a local newspaper shows the breadth of the male franchise in early colonial New Zealand. Many of those enrolled did so as householders, which meant they were not property owners, but rented a home at a cost of £10 or more a year. Those who did not qualify were about a quarter of the total. Along with a handful of prison inmates, a small number of 'aliens' (non-British subjects), recent immigrants and itinerant workers – farm labourers, bush sawyers, sailors – were excluded.