Women's Suffrage

NOTE: This episode has been reuploaded to correct some inaccuracies in the original version.

We all know New Zealand was the first country in the world where women could vote. But do you know how we got there? The path to suffrage is littered with alcohol, hidden heroes & dirty tricks.

Watch the video version of the episode here

NOTE: This episode of The Aotearoa History Show has been re-uploaded to correct some inaccuracies in the original version. These changes are as follows:

A segment referring to an effort by anti-suffrage MPs to exclude Māori women from suffrage has been removed. It appears those MPs were not actually serious about implementing this change to the bill.

A segment saying Premier Richard Seddon "opposed suffrage" and acted deliberately to sabotage it has been revised to reflect a degree of uncertainty among historians about Seddon's views of suffrage.

A line saying 19th century European women were the "property" of their husbands or fathers has been removed. Women were often treated as property but were not legally defined as such.

Various changes have been made to segments referring to Kate Sheppard and the WCTU to include a perspective among some historians that the WCTU's role in the suffrage campaign was less central than previously understood.

A number of small corrections have been made to places and dates.

On 19 September 1893 Aotearoa became the first self-governing country in the world where women could vote.

So... How did it happen? Well that's a wild ride from the French Revolution, through the colonisation of Aotearoa, to battles over booze, to ultimate victory. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details