Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wāhine
The Women's Suffrage Petition
I te wā i waitohu a Kāwana Glasgow i te Electoral Bill i te 19 o Hepetema 1893, ka tū ko Aotearoa hei whenua kāwanatanga motuhake tuatahi o te ao ki te tuku i te mana pōti ki te wahine.
When Governor Glasgow signed the Electoral Bill on 19 September 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing nation in the world where women had won the right to vote.
Ko te Pire nei te hua o ngā hia tau o ngā hui i tū ki ngā tāone puta noa i te motu, otirā i haere tawhiti ai ngā wāhine ki te whakarongo ki ngā kauhau kōrero, te whakamana mōtini me te waitohu petihana. He maha ngā petihana i whakaaturia ki ngā Whare e rua o te Pāremata, atu i ngā tau 1880 ki te 1893.
I te 1891 e waru ngā petihana me ngā waitohu neke atu i te 9000 te maha i kohia, ā, i te 1892, e ono ngā petihana me ngā waitohu tata ki te 20,000 te maha. Koinei te tōpūtanga o ngā tau maha o ngā mahi a te Women‘s Christian Temperance Movement me te kaimana pōti rongonui nei a Kate Sheppard, me ētahi atu.
Ahakoa i mūhore aua petihana, ka whakaritea anō tētahi mō te 1893. Ka whakaahuatia e Kate Sheppard hei "petihana pukahu nui" e hahau ana kia riro mai i te wahine te mana pōti. Ka huri haere ngā whārangi petihana i te motu, ā, ka whakahokia ki Ōtautahi kia honohonohia e Kate Sheppard ia whārangi, ka pōkaia haeretia ki te kakau o te purūma.
I te mutunga iho, 13 ngā petihana i tukua ki te Whare Pāremata i te 1893. E mau ana ngā waitohu o ngā wāhine 31,872 o te motu, otirā nō ngā momo porihanga whānui. Tekau mā rua ngā petihana kāore i ora, engari ko te mea "pukahu nui" i honohonotia, i ora tonu. He 25,519 ngā waitohu kei runga, otirā nā ngā tāne ētahi.
Ka whakatakotoria te rārangi nei ki te Pāremata me te nui o ngā whakatautau. Nā John Hall, Mema Pāremata, me te kaitautoko manapōti i kawe ki te Whare, ka horaina e ia ki te kauhanganui o te whare o raro kia pā rawa ki tētahi pito o te whare. Nō te rua marama i muri mai, 109,461 nga wāhine i rēhitatia ki te pōti i te pōtitanga o te 1893.
Whakaaturia ai Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine ki He Tohu, he whakaturanga pūmau mō ngā tuhinga turepapa e toru i hangā ai a Aotearoa.
He huarahi whakahirahira tēnei te pātengi raraunga Petihana Mana Pōti Wāhine kei NZHistory ki te rapu i tētahi kaiwaitohu. Mā tēnei pātengi raraunga ka taea e koe te rapu mā te ingoa whānau, mā te tāone, te rohe, te nama o te Whārangi rānei. Kei te wātea tētahi putanga matihiko o ia Whārangi o te Petihana.
Ki te hiahia koe ki te tuhi haurongo mā He Tohu me NZHistory, tirohia te Aratohu Haurongo Manapōti Wāhine.
The Bill was the outcome of years of meetings in towns and cities across the country, with women often travelling considerable distances to hear lectures and speeches, pass resolutions and sign petitions. A number of petitions were presented to both Houses of Parliament from the early 1880s till 1893.
In 1891 eight petitions containing more than 9000 signatures were gathered, and in 1892 six petitions containing almost 20,000. These were the culmination of many years work by the Women‘s Christian Temperance Movement and prominent suffragist, Kate Sheppard, among others.
Despite the failures of these petitions, another was organised in 1893. It was described by Kate Sheppard as "a monster petition" demanding the right for women to vote. Petition sheets, circulated throughout New Zealand, were returned to Christchurch where Kate Sheppard pasted each sheet end on end and rolled it around a section of a broom handle.
In the end, 13 petitions were submitted to the House of Representatives in 1893. They contained the signatures of 31,872 women from across the country and across the social spectrum. Twelve of the petitions have not survived, but the "monster" that was pasted together did. This contains 25,519 signatures, including some men.
The roll was presented to Parliament with great drama. John Hall, Member of Parliament and suffrage supporter, brought it into the House and unrolled it down the central aisle of the debating chamber until it hit the end wall with a thud. Less than two months later, 109,461 women enrolled to vote in the 1893 election.
The 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition is on display at He Tohu, a permanent exhibition of three constitutional documents that shape Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Women’s Suffrage Petition database on NZHistory is an excellent way to search for a signatory. This database allows you to search by surname, by suburb or town, by city or region, or by Sheet number. A digital version of each Sheet of the Petition is available.
If you would like to write a biography for He Tohu and NZHistory, check out the Women’s Suffrage Biography Guide.