On Saturday, 7 May 2022, the Manukau Branch of National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) held an event at the Auckland Botanic Gardens in Manurewa to celebrate the 125th anniversary of NCWNZ and also to acknowledge and celebrate the suffragists. A special area had been created there in 1993 to mark the centenary of women's suffrage by the NCW - a plaque marks the spot.

1867. New Zealand women ratepayers in Nelson and Otago Provinces begin voting at the local level.

1875. NZ Parliament made compulsory in all provinces for women ratepayers to be allowed to vote in municipal elections.

1893. NZ women at least 21 years of age – property ownership not required for suffrage since 1879 - vote in the national general election (28 November – and on 20 December 1893, women vote in Māori seats for first time).

Newly Inducted Life Members: Colleen Edward (left) and Belinda Manus McGeehan (right), with NCWHC President Jenny Brittain (center). Image courtesy of Jenny Brittain.

In April 2022, at a lunch in Orewa, forty members and family friends of Colleen Edward and Belinda Manus McGeehan gathered to celebrate the ladies being honoured with Life Membership of the NCW Hibiscus Coast (NCWHC) branch.

Both Colleen and Belinda were presented with framed certificates acknowledging their service to NCWHBC that has ensured the branch has continued to advance the status of women and girls locally and nationally since its incorporation in the 1990’s.

Arial view of Independence Square, Kyiv. Image courtesy  of Liz Cruickshank.

Just over 10 years ago, a large contingent of NCWNZ members attended a wonderful International Council of Women (ICW) General Assembly in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Amongst our contingent were:
Vivienne Boyd
Dame Miriam Dell
Dame Jocelyn Fish
Dame Janet Hesketh
Dame Alison Roxburgh
Dame Laurie Salas
Dame Dorothy Winstone

Suzanne Manning, President, National Council of Women of New Zealand

Ngā mihi nui e te whānau o Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa.

It feels great to be writing to all you NCWNZ members – and potential members – via the refreshed Circular.

Thanks to Randolph Hollingsworth who has volunteered to take on the role of Circular editor. Randolph is a historian and academic administrator who worked in the United Stakes for many years. Being a staunch feminist, she was also involved in a variety of US feminist groups, and has a keen interest in suffrage histories. Now living in Auckland and enjoying spending time with her daughter and their family, Randolph is putting her considerable talents into historical and feminist projects. We are lucky that she is an NCWNZ member and that the Circular is one of her projects.

For International Women's Day 2022, the Wellington Branch of NCWNZ designed a social media campaign on their Instagram video feed, highlighting thirteen wāhine within their community.

Members of the Christchurch NCWNZ are considering how to keep up awareness of the results of a sexual harassment survey undertaken at the request of the principal of Christchurch Girls' High School, Christine O'Neill.

Dr. Liz Gordon of Pūkeko Research Ltd. received an astounding 71% response rate from just over 1000 students aged 12 to 18. Most respondants were 16, and over 90% identified as female and nearly 75% as straight. Of the 430 respondants who indicated that they themselves had been sexually harassed, 381 reported they had (in total) experienced 2677 incidents of sexual harassment in the past year, averaging about seven incidents per student. Twenty respondents indicated that they had been raped.

Analyse this chart of the 2022 New Year's Honours crafted by Beryl Anderson, ONZM (NCWNZ Hutt Valley Branch). In the 2022 New Year’s honours list, 183 awards were given to 91 women, 91 men, and one intersex. According to the Prime Minister's Honours Advisory Committee: “Our honours system is a way for New Zealand to say thanks and well done to those who have served and those who have achieved. We believe that such recognition is consistent with the egalitarian character of New Zealand society and enlivens and enriches it.” But if you examine Ms. Anderson's table more deeply, there is much to notice.

Nau mai, haere mai - welcome. 

Here you will find the new version of The Circular, official organ of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ). The Circular has had a break for a year while the Council was undergoing the process of developing a new structure that would sustain and empower the organisation. To see past issues of The Circular, you can visit the New Zealand Parliamentary Library where the publications are archived. As a member of the NCWNZ, you can login and see the past issues (since March 2014) posted here.