Link to the Show / Show Notes
Ferrymead Heritage Park is an
open-air museum that tells stories about Victorian and Edwardian
Christchurch. On Labour Weekend the Museum Detective was invited to the launch of Miss Camelia White – an advocate of the women’s suffrage movement. The Museum Detective talked with staff who were role-playing, and the MP for Christchurch East Lianne Dalziel, who was until recently Minister for Women’s Affairs. Lianne wasn’t role-playing.
So let’s set the scene a little. We have some sensible women (and some men) who wanted to create social change in New Zealand. There were two ideas going on - one involved booze and the other was about voting. It was thought that if women could vote it would probably create a national majority in favour of prohibition on the sale of alcohol (and therefore men would spend less time drinking at the local pub and more time with their family; there would also be more money to spend on food). The other idea was that if women could vote, and be represented in Parliament, it would improve the welfare of women and children.
So let's hear from Miss Camellia White, who is busy rallying signatures from women, and we also hear stories from some rather conservative men who not only thought women
should stay home to cook, clean and sew, they should also get rid
of their bicycles. Apparently bicycles were the favoured mode of transportation for the real Kate Sheppard and her companions. These bicycles obviously gave
some women too much freedom (and big ideas)!
The launch of Miss Camellia White took place on Labour Day; it was a
fresh, blustery spring day, the steam trains were running and so too
the trams. This all makes for wonderful ambient noise, but the wind did
distort the recording.
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