Seated portrait of Elizabeth Yates, c.1894. In 1893 Yates was elected mayor of Onehunga, the first woman in the British Empire to hold this office.
Elizabeth Yates
Elizabeth Yates was elected mayor of Onehunga on 29 November 1893,
becoming the first woman in the British Empire to hold the office.
First woman mayor in British Empire elected
By becoming mayor of Onehunga, Auckland, Elizabeth Yates struck another blow for the rights of New Zealand women in local-body polls held the day after the first general election in which women could vote.
