Petitions had an important role in 19th-century politics, particularly for women, who could not use the vote to express their views. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union presented three major petitions to Parliament calling for the extension of the franchise to women. The largest of these, presented in 1893, is depicted in this mural near the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. The petition was more than 270 metres long, and was signed by 25,520 women. Another 8,000 women signed one of the other petitions supporting women’s suffrage that were circulating that year.
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Jock Phillips
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