A few days ago was the 126th celebration of women in New Zealand achieving the right to vote.
It was also my first week back volunteering at The Elms/Te Papa for a few months. I tend to arrive early to enjoy a walk around the gardens and familiarise myself before any visitors are welcomed in. While wandering around, I remembered the 3 white Camellias [Camellia Japonica “Kate Sheppard”] planted near the newly developed Heritage Garden. Though the Camellias aren’t in flower yet as are still relatively young trees, I will hopefully again be volunteering here when they do bloom profusely.
These 3 trees were planted during Tauranga’s celebration of 125 years of NZ Women’s Suffrage, in honour of Alice Maxwell at The Elms/Te Papa. Whose signature was on the signatory to the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition.
The White Camellia became the symbol of the New Zealand women’s suffrage movement after they were given to supporters in September 1893. One of the reasons for choosing this flower could be the coincidence of the White Camellia being prolific during September. Alice Maxwell certainly had a few camellias to share.
So, who is Alice Maxwell?
Photo: Courtesy of Tauranga Kete [google]Alice was born in Australia. Arriving in New Zealand when she was four, in 1865, with her widowed mother and three siblings. Her earlier years were spent in Wadestown, Wellington.
At 21, Alice would travel up north and stay at The Elms with her aunt and uncle Christina and Alfred Brown. During this time, she developed a passion regarding the history of The Elms, and it would eventually become her permanent home for the next 62 years.
Her mother and older sister also lived here but passed away in 1919 and 1930 respectively. As well as playing a role in the Women’s Suffragette Movement, Alice was a supporter of many other charities. These included Barnardo’s Homes for the orphans and soldiers who had been wounded in World War One, just to name a couple.
All supported by Alice and her sister via the selling of flowers.
Life at No. 22 
This was a really interesting read Suz, thanks for sharing this important piece of history. Sharing for #mlstl
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Thanks Deb and I too think it’s important to acknowledge women who all played a part in our history.
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Thank you Suzanne. I so admire women who paved the way for us to have richer, fuller lives today, and I hope we are doing the same for our daughters and granddaughters. #MLSTL
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Happy to hear about the woman who basically led the suffrage movement for the entire world. It took another 27 years before the US did it.
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Thanks for researching such an interesting story. It’s always lovely to read true biographical stories of women who have had the courage to stand up for their beliefs and change womens’ lives for the better. #MLSTL
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Thank you for reading the post and yes I too love stories of women who have stood up for their beliefs. Wouldn’t have been easy for anyone back in those days.
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This is a fabulous story. NZ led the world in the issue of the suffrage of women (amongst other things lol) so thankyou for bringing us one such story. An inspiration. #MLSTL
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Cheers Jo, and yes for a small country we have certainly made our mark in the world. Women who go that extra step to create change are amazing.
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So nice. I’m always grateful when women honour other women – particularly those whose shoulders we’ve all stood on to reach our current heights. Thank you.
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Thanks very much Pamela.
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It’s fantastic we remember these women who stood up for their beliefs, not forgetting how difficult it must have been for them, but they stuck to what they believed in for future generations. Alice, an inspirational woman. Thank you for sharing.
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I feel quite passionate about our pioneering women and all those that pathed the way for us. Especially our grandmothers era who witnessed so much change in their lifetime.
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It’s always interesting to read about women who stepped up and changed their lives and a little bit of the world around them. I love that there’s even a flower associated with Alice and the suffrage movement – that’s just a lovely little addition isn’t it?
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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Hello, thank you for remembering such a special woman and the other suffragettes. We take for granted our right to vote, and it is good to be reminded that there are women who worked long and hard so that we could vote! The flowers are lovely!
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I think you are right that many do take it for granted how hard it was for women to be heard. Thanks for commenting, Michele.
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Some people do such special things in life.. so good to remember them.. 😉
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Yes, so many unrecognised special people in our communities
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What a wonderful woman! We don’t hear enough about women’s successes.
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You’re right we don’t.
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What a lovely way to fight for a cause. 🙂 🙂
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I think so too Jo 🙂 Plus I could spend a small fortune on flowers!
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Thanks for posting this. It is really important to remember ALL the women who fought for suffrage.
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Thank you too Su, as your post inspired me to write it. How can we forget? So much more has to be done to improve the lives of women in our so called modern society.
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Agreed. And if people don’t know how hard-won the rights we have were, they are more likely to squander them and take them for granted.
And learning about the women who came before is so inspiring when it comes to the work that still needs to be done.
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They were very strong women who fought so hard despite how tough it was. Tauranga is a very beautiful place and certainly one of my favourites in NZ
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May we always remember those who not only marched and spoke, but rolled up their sleeves and did – enjoyed this
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I totally agree and what inspirational women to remember. Thanks for commenting.
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