MEDIA RELEASE Monday 15 September 2003
Ceremony marks 110th anniversary of women’s suffrage
Christchurch will celebrate the 110th anniversary of New Zealand women being granted the right to vote, with a ceremony
at the Kate Sheppard Memorial on Friday 19 September.
Members of the public are invited to attend the event which will be held between 12noon and 1.30pm at the Memorial,
beside the Our City building (cnr Worcester Boulevard and Oxford Tce)
Sometimes referred to as White Camellia Day, this anniversary is a chance for women of all ages and backgrounds to show
their appreciation for the work of the suffragists led by Christchurch woman Kate Sheppard.
The ‘Te Ropu Kapahaka o’ performance group from Villa Maria College will be opening this year’s celebrations. There will
also be performances by a Rangiora High School vocal duet and the Burnside High School Barbershop Quartet –‘Once More
With Feeling’.
In soap-box style, members of the public will be invited to show their thanks and support for women’s suffrage by saying
a few words over a microphone; reciting a poem; or singing a song. Everyone present on Friday will also have the
opportunity to place a camellia or spring flower on the memorial, in memory of those who have gone before, or as a wish
for now or the future.
The Christchurch City Council is assisting The Women’s Suffrage Day Group with organising the memorial event.
ENDS