Edited by Jared Davidson. Historical Essay by Barbara Brookes. Published by Bridget Williams Books, 2023. (NZD 18). Reviewed by Ann Hassan

This short book considers the document which drove New Zealand to adopt women’s suffrage: the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition. From her Christchurch home, Kate Sheppard collated the signed petition sheets of women all over the country, then pasted them end-to-end and rolled them around a broomstick — a 274 metre scroll in support of women’s enfranchisement.

The book is divided into two sections. Part I relates to the petition itself, including short biographies of some of the signatories. These are fascinating: with their stories of widowhood, divorce, abandonment and remarriage, they show the precariousness of women’s lives and the near-impossiblity of single life for women. They also show the debt we owe to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Part II is an erudite essay by Professor Barbara Brookes which gives the context for the petition, especially as it relates to Te Tiriti — when it was signed, Māori women had more rights regarding property than their Pākehā counterparts. Although Brookes ends her essay with a reminder that the gender pay gap indicates work still to be done, this is a story of hard-won progress.

This book is an encouraging account of successful collective action which will appeal to readers of Aotearoa history and anyone wanting an example of ordinary women working together for extraordinary change.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 285 September 2023: 27