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Kiwi of the Week

John A. Lee

A charismatic ex-soldier, orator and propagandist, John A. Lee was a dynamic figure in the Labour Party from the 1920s until 1940, when he was expelled for attacking the leadership of M.J. Savage.

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Today in History

13 April

1896 NCW formed in Christchurch

The National Council of Women of New Zealand was established in Christchurch by women who had been active in the suffrage campaign. They gathered to discuss how to secure reforms to improve the status and conditions of women.

The office holders of the NCW included some of the heavyweights of the suffrage movement; Kate Sheppard was the first NCW president, Anna Stout was its first vice-president and Ada Wells was appointed NCW secretary.

Three years after New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the vote to all women in 1893, a convention of representatives from 11 women's groups from throughout New Zealand formed the National Council of Women (NCW). Its aim was to 'unite all organised Societies of Women for mutual counsel and co-operation, and in the attainment of justice and freedom for women, and for all that makes for the good of humanity'. The NCW still works in the interests of women, but it is a very different organisation from that established in the 1890s.