Director’s Tour To Highlight Women’s Achievements

Whanganui Regional Museum will commemorate Suffrage Day with a special event focusing on Whanganui women.

Museum Director Dr Bronwyn Labrum will lead a tour of the Museum galleries, highlighting current exhibits that celebrate women’s achievements.

This year marks the 130th anniversary of Suffrage Day. On 19 September 1893, New Zealand women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections, establishing New Zealand as the first self-governing country in the world to extend this right to all women. Suffrage Day commemorates the milestone, its legacy, and the contributions of the suffragists who fought for change.

Bronwyn Labrum said the tour aims to help visitors learn more behind the stories of influential women in our region. “We are trying to make the Museum more inclusive, and that means telling women’s stories as much as the usually more well-known men’s stories.”

The talk will include Margaret Bullock, founder and president of the Woman’s Franchise League and leader of the suffrage campaign in Whanganui, and her peers. “I completed research on these women when I was doing honours in history at Massey University, so they have a place in my heart. It really got me thinking at that time about what else we didn’t know about women in history, and the important women particularly in a city like Whanganui.”

“I think it’s really important to celebrate suffrage day and honour all those women who have been before us and have fought for our rights.”

The director’s tour, Women at the Museum will be held on Tuesday 19th September at 12.15pm, at the Whanganui Regional Museum. Admission is $15.00 per person. Bookings are not required.

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