Stories
Suffrage pen proudly on display
February 01, 2023 | Stories

By John O'Hare

A Victorian-era agate banded pen used by then New Zealand Governor Lord Glasgow to sign the world-changing legislation granting women the right to vote into effect, was until recently archived in the Seddon Collection at Parliament hidden from the world.

The pen that ushered in a new world. Photo: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

The epoch-making artefact was located after a little investigation by Helen Osborne, Property Lead at Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House, who found the pen buried in the archive almost completely forgotten.

More recently the beautiful dip pen has become a favourite display item for people visiting the home of suffragist Kate Sheppard in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam. The house is cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and is open to the public.

“Richard Seddon presented the pen to Kate Sheppard following the passing of the legislation. She then gifted it to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union Headquarters in Wellington to be displayed forevermore,” says Helen.

“She wrote in the Suffragist paper White Ribbon that the pen would remain there ‘...as a relic of the fight in which the Union bore so brave a part.’ At some point, however, the pen appears to have made its way back to the Seddon Collection.”

Helen located it and brought it ‘home’.

New Zealand was the first country in the world that passed legislation giving women the right to vote, and this year marks the 130th anniversary year of the legislation being signed into law. Despite the legislation going through in September 1893, however, there was still some residual resistance – often from conservative men in positions of power, according to Helen.

“Unbeknownst to many, the pen – which marked the ushering in of historic legislation – was once the object of a wind-up, orchestrated by no less a person than the Governor’s own Private Secretary,” she says.

“His attitude was sadly reflective of many men of his generation.”

Richard Seddon was one example. Initially a staunch opponent of women’s suffrage, Seddon’s message of congratulations sent to Sheppard after the bill was signed into law appears to have been done through gritted teeth:

“I trust now that all doubts as to the sincerity of the Government in this very important matter have been efectually removed,” he wrote in a tone that was not exactly fizzing with celebration.

Another prominent government official however – Edward Tregear, head of the Labour Bureau and advocate for improved conditions for women and all workers in general – had a much greater appreciation of the significance of the change. He wrote to the Governor, Lord Glasgow, requesting the pen be given to him as a souvenir of the momentous event.

“According to a newspaper report of the day, a parcel was duly sent from Government House to Tregear. He opened the box to find, what was described as ‘a very second-hand pen tied with blue ribbon’,” says Helen.

The Poverty Bay Herald takes up the story:

“His [Tregear] heart rejoiced, and he rushed forth to show his friends the pen of liberty.... It was some time before he discovered that a wicked practical joker had been at work.”

The ‘trickster’ in question was Lord Glasgow’s private secretary, Captain R.S. Hunter-Blair who, by happy coincidence, was Lady Glasgow’s brother. Hunter-Blair’s inserted note to Tregear was revealing:

“I am instructed by His Excellency to forward you herewith the pen and pen-holder with which he signed the bill giving the women the suffrage, very much to his regret.”

The story was not widely picked up, though it says a lot about the times.

“This little interlude doesn’t rate a footnote in history, apart from revealing the attitudes of the time and the men who probably resented women’s new civic freedom,” says Helen.

“It might also illustrate the petty and patronising views which Kate Sheppard and the women and men who supported suffrage had to contend with on a daily basis.”

It wasn’t just the practical joke which trivialised in part the passing of the bill into law – it was the time taken to fully brief a journalist to write about it in a national newspaper.

“It hints of an institutional indifference to the newly acquired women’s civic rights – something that persisted well after the legislation was passed,” she says.

Helen is delighted that the historic pen has made its ‘way home’ – even temporarily – and says it will remain on display at Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House in Ilam, Christchurch until the end of March.

Visitors to Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House can see the pen for themselves – and learn more about Kate Sheppard and New Zealand’s world-changing suffrage movement – as part of the Making Your Mark exhibition which runs until 30 March. Visiting the exhibition is free, with normal admission fees for the museum applicable.

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John O'Hare | Communications Advisor
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