Story: Voting rights

Lodgers’ franchise

Lodgers’ franchise

As New Zealand’s European population increased in the 1870s, the number of men unable to vote also rose. Young tradesmen, along with many of those who worked in banks, offices, and factories, lived in boarding houses, so were not included in the householders’ franchise. Farmers’ sons were also often ineligible. Extending the franchise to these men, such as those who lived in this boarding house at Mōkau, was generally supported in the 1870s.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-094204-F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, 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:

Neill Atkinson, 'Voting rights - Male suffrage', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36431/lodgers-franchise (accessed 23 April 2024)

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 17 Feb 2015