Gisborne Suffragist Margaret Home Sievwright (1844-1905) Collection of  Tairāwhiti Museum

2018 marks the 125^th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.  Tairāwhiti Museum is working toward an exhibition, to open on 9 November 2018, which will remember the contribution of Tairāwhiti women to the Suffrage movement.

Only four Gisborne women are represented in the 1893 petition presented to Parliament on 11 August 1893. This is because the petitions for some smaller regions in NZ were not attached to the main petition and have not survived.  Fortunately, the 1892 petition survives and it contains the signatures of 221 women from Gisborne and the wider district.

As part of our research for the upcoming exhibition we are interested in hearing from descendants of the women who signed the 1892 petition. If you recognise a name on this list please get in touch with Jean Johnston (exhibition researcher) or Eloise Wallace (Museum Director) at the museum on 06 8673832 or eloisewallace@tairawhitimuseum.org.nz.  We are particularly interested in locating photographs, documents, objects or any other information which will help us tell the stories of the women who signed.

Gisborne signatories on the 1892 Petition

This is a transcription and it is possible there may be spelling errors, if you think a name may have been transcribed on to this list incorrectly please let us know.

You can access the full petitions for 1893 and 1892 here: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/about-the-petition

Month: August 2018