Suffrage Celebration 12-1, Tuesday, 19 September, Kate Sheppard Memorial in Ōtautahi Christchurch

Mayoress Chrissy Mauger

Over 100 people attended this outdoor event which was organised in collaboration with the Christchurch City Council and Plains FM.

Liz Kereru and Maaka Tau welcomed everyone with a Mihi Whakatau on behalf of Ngāi Tūāhuriri. This was followed by presentations from Chrissy Mauger, Mayoress of Christchurch, Tania Wati, Ngāi Tūāhuriri representative on Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Helen Osborne, Property Manager, Te Whare Waiutuutu - Kate Sheppard House. Nancy McShane, Public Service Association representative, delivered a speech written about Kate Sheppard.

Nancy McShane, Public Service Association

Sunita Gautam, Community Board Member, Central Ward, spoke about the importance of diversity and inclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sunita Guatam, Community Board Member, Central Ward

The event concluded with the singing of ‘True Colours’ by the Rangi Ruru School Choir and attendees left white camellias on the memorial.

Rangi Ruru School Choir

TV1 filmed the event and a few minutes of footage was shown in a TV1 One News 6 pm news item on 130 th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. The presenters were recorded by Plains FM and an edited version of this recording, which includes comments from those attending the event, was broadcast on 20 September and 24 September. Funding from Manatū Wāhine was obtained for koha for the Mihi Whakatau and for the recording of the event by Plains FM and the creator of the edited podcast. 

On 30 September 2023, the Manukau Branch held a 130 Suffrage Celebration Brunch at St David's Anglican Church in Manukau. It was attended by the Human Rights Commissioner, Pacific Womens Watch and students from Strathallen and McCauley Colleges as well as other interested parties. The NCW Board was represented by Betty Ofe-Grant, and members of the Auckland Branch also attended which was much appreciated.

For its celebration of Suffrage Day 2023, Manawatu Branch planned a field trip to Wellington. Unfortunately, by the time 19th September came round, numbers able to make the trip were depleted and it was a small group that took part. Thus it became a reconnaissance trip in preparation for 2024.

Three new NCWNZ banners debuted at a Wellington Branch event on 5th September 2023

The Wellington Branch has refreshed their NCWNZ banners with some beautiful new designs, developed by Wellington Branch Social Media Officer Ashlee Metcalfe. The banners were debuted at the Annual Women’s Debate 2023 in Wellington and easily stole the show.

Challen Wilson, NCWNZ member and great- granddaughter of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, gave this speech at the Suffrage 130 celebration hosted by NCW Auckland Branch at Te Hā O Hine Place on 19 September 2023. The speech is presented here with many thanks to Challen for sending it to us to publish for all to enjoy.

Beryl Anderson OMNZ presented a biography of Dame Miriam Dell

On the 30th August 2023, The Hutt Valley Branch held a dinner in the honor of Dame Miriam Dell celebrating the contribution she made to gender equality.

The funds raised from the evening went to support a Lower Hutt Suffrage Centennial Charitable Trust (SHE Trust) Scholarship.

Get on out there! Whether you are a member of a local NCWNZ branch or of an NCWNZ Action Hub, we rely on you to help with collaborations across organisations with a similar mission to get things done at the local, regional and national levels. As stated in the NCWNZ 2020 report A Sustainable Future - Free from Gender Discrimination: "Our strength comes from our membership, which includes individuals, branches, and organisations from unions and NGOs to community organisations." 

Currently, we have 13 local branches and more than 200 member organisations, as well as individual members. In addition, we have members and non-member volunteers who serve on six Action Hubs. The Parliamentary Watch Committee, an evolution from one of the original components of the NCWNZ since its founding in 1896, coordinates the writing of official submissions and our combined input into consultations with Parliament or with international organisations such as the United Nations' international treaty, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

In July I was asked by Family Harm Prevention to attend a meeting with the Family Harm Practitioners to explain to them the role that National Council of Women play in preventing family violence.

NCWNZ Ōtautahi Christchurch Branch and Students Against Sexual Harm (SASH) at Christchurch Girls’ High School (CGHS) collaborated to hold an action workshop for high school students in Greater Christchurch at Tūranga Library in central Christchurch 4-6 pm on Tuesday 11 May 2023. The workshop was attended by twenty students from five different high schools, as well as two representatives of the Empowerment Trust, two counsellors from one of the schools attending, and NCWNZ Ōtautahi Christchurch Branch members who had worked with students to organise the workshop. The eight male students who attended were from three different high schools (one a high school for boys); the others were female students, overwhelmingly from two large girls’ schools in the city.

After a welcome, and some information about SASH, students were engaged in small group discussion of workshop questions with two breaks for refreshments and informal talk. There was a lively buzz throughout the two hours and a group photo was taken at the end. 

SASH Workshop Attendees at Tūranga Library, 11 May 2023. Image courtesy of NCWNZ Ōtautahi Christchurch Branch.

NCWNZ Nelson Branch mourns the loss of their Life Member Queenie Ballance who died on 16^th April 2023. She was well known and respected by many in NCWNZ.

Queenie joined NCW Auckland in 1985, representing Federation of University Women. She was the convenor of the NCWNZ Environment Standing Committee from 1992-1998 and, through her leadership, the members of NCWNZ became much more educated and proactive about conservation and environment issues.  She served on the Auckland Branch Executive and was Branch President 1998-2000.