Kate Sheppard Suffrage Petition tea towel

New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, in 1893, and Kate Sheppard was the country's most famous suffragist. She was born in Liverpool and  emigrated to New Zealand with her family in 1868. There she became an active member of various religious and social organisations and started promoting women's suffrage by organising petitions and public meetings, writing letters to the press and developing contacts with politicians. She was the editor of 'The White Ribbon', the first woman-operated newspaper in New Zealand. Through her skilful writing, for example her pamphlets 'Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote' and 'Should Women Vote?' and her persuasive public speaking, culminating in a petition presented to parliament with 30,000 signatures calling for women's suffrage, there's no doubt that Kate Sheppard played a key role in the successful extension of the franchise to women on 19th September, 1893.