On the 18th of September, four NCW Manawatu members joined with their counterparts at Mint café in central Whanganui, for the beginnings of a tour around local suffrage sites.

The next stop was the museum, where there is a permanent display of three early suffragists: Margaret Bullock, Jessie Williamson, and Ellen Balance. These three were key to advocacy efforts in the region, and they collected signatures for the 1893 petition. Along from this display, members enjoyed the sight of costumes through the past, finishing with Costume of the Month. The museum visit concluded with a viewing of a photographic exhibition of churches in the district. 

From the museum, the group made their way to the Whanganui District Court, where a stained-glass window to the three above Whanganui suffragists, created by Julie Greig and Greg Hall, has recently been placed. This window was sponsored by NCWNZ Whanganui branch. (See more about this commemorative window in a previous article in The Circular.) Overall, the windows, placed high on the side walls, create a light and colour-filled summary of Wanganui history.

Following lunch together, the Palmerston North group visited the must-see Sargeant Gallery, which opened this year after extensive refurbishment. The new building unites old and new with an entrance, staircase, overbridge and waka between, and allows modern facilities to blend harmoniously with the limestone grandeur and dignity of the original.

NCW Manawatu particularly enjoyed meeting up with the five NCW women from Whanganui, where we could share our activities and plans, and deepen links for the future.

Below: Whanganui and Palmerston North NCW members pose for a photo below the suffrage window at the Whanganui District Council. (Photo courtesy of Fatima Junaid).

To read more articles from The Circular (September-October 2025) issue 654, click on the tag below.