Making the invisible visible: uncovering the stories of the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition signatories
- Date: Thursday, 5 April, 2018
- Time: 12pm to 1pm. Followed by a tour of He Tohu from 1pm to 1.40pm.
- Cost: Free.
- Location: Te Ahumairangi (ground floor), National Library, corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets
- Contact Details: events.natlib@dia.govt.nz
We’ve been collecting biographies
Alongside the He Tohu exhibition, Archives New Zealand and Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage have been writing and collecting the biographies of the 25,519 women (and some men) who signed the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition. These biographies are being uploaded to NZHistory’s suffrage petition database and made available to visitors to He Tohu.
But we need your help
There are many more biographies to write and we need your help! Bring your own device to start your own digital biography on the day.
Find out how you can help
Join He Tohu Lead Curator, Stefanie Lash from Archives New Zealand for an introduction to the suffrage petition biographies project and a demonstration on how to research, write, and submit your ancestor’s biography.
Learn about a tool you can use
This will be followed by a presentation by Thomasin Sleigh from the National Library on how to use DigitalNZ’s new ‘stories’ tool to tell the stories of the women who signed the suffrage petition, and a discussion of why and how women’s stories fall through the gaps of history.
About the speakers
Stefanie Lash is the Lead Curator of He Tohu, and has a special interest in the social history behind the enfranchisement of New Zealand women.
Thomasin Sleigh is DigitalNZ’s Community Manager. She promotes access to Aotearoa’s cultural heritage online and works with the excellent people who use DigitalNZ.