New Zealand Post is celebrating the courage of women who fought to vote 125 years ago, with a new $3 postage stamp which was printed in Dunedin.
About 84,000 stamps were printed at Southern Colour Print and feature an image of celebrated suffragist Kate Sheppard, blended with a white camellia — the symbol of the movement.
New Zealand Post stamps and coins head Simon Allison said the state-owned enterprise was proud of the role it played in bringing the 1893 suffrage petition together.
‘‘New Zealand Post [formerly known as the Post Office] played a small but important role, in that part of the petition was sent around the country through our postal
‘‘On the back of the petition, which is on display at He Tohu, National Library, you can see an old stamp and Kate Sheppard’s address at her Post Office private box in Christchurch.
‘‘New Zealand Post has been part of New Zealand’s history for 178 years, and we plan to be here for at least 178 more, delivering things New Zealanders care about, like this petition,’’ Mr Allison said.
The petition, organised by Kate Sheppard, had 32,000 signatures on it when it was presented to Parliament, and led to New Zealand becoming the first self-governing country in the world to grant all adult women the right to vote in parliamentary elections, he said.
‘‘This stamp issue celebrates New Zealand as a world-leading, forwardthinking nation.’’
Looking back at New Zealand Post’s history, it showed what it was like for women working in the then Post Office.
The first recorded female employee was Miss L. Bates who was a sub-deputy postmistress in 1851, and worked in Onehunga for one pound per month.
By 1892, there were 47 women employed in telephone exchanges, which were a key part of the post and telegraph service at the time.
In June 1963, married women working at the Post Office could retain their permanent status, seniority and grading.
In 1984, the Post Office became one of 12 government employers to sign a statement committing to an active role in creating equal opportunities for all employees.
In January 1985, 33-year-old Leslie Clifford was the first female appointed as director and was the youngest member of the administration.
Today, more than 55% of New Zealand Post’s workforce is female. More than half of its board members are women, including chairwoman Jane Taylor.
