This Week in History

19th Septmeber 1893
NZ women win the right to vote.

When the Governor, Lord Glasgow, signed the Electoral Act into law on 19 September 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Most other countries, including Britain and the United States, did not allow women to vote until after the First World War. New Zealand was therefore seen as being a forward thinking and progressive country.

Despite this victory, women did not gain the right to stand for Parliament until 1919, and the first female MP was not elected until 1933. We have now made up for lost time, as in 2012 around one third of MP’s are women

… we have the suffragettes of the 19th century to thank for that.

 

What was the name of the suffragette who appears on our $10 note?