Rotorua women will be marking the 120th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand, with a special celebration breakfast and a white camellia bouquet.
The Zonta Club of Rotorua has planned a special breakfast at Capers Epicurean on Thursday and afterwards club members and invited guests will travel out to the Zonta Suffrage Grove at Tihi-o-tonga, and lay a bouquet of white camellias on the bronze memorial plaque. White camellias are the symbol for universal suffrage in New Zealand.
Zonta Club of Rotorua board member Jenny White said, "I am really looking forward to joining other Zonta women for breakfast and going out to Zonta Suffrage grove afterwards".
The grove was established 20 years ago to commemorate outstanding Rotorua women who had contributed to women's advancement. It is a 20 ha grove developed to provide a place where people can plant and dedicate trees. Zonta Club president Jenny Dowthwaite will be speaking about the women's suffrage movement and recognising the efforts of the women, who won both voting rights and the right to stand for public office.
In 1893, New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote. Many larger democracies, such as Britain and the US, did not grant the vote to women until after the World War I. Zonta is an international service organisation of business and professional women working to improve the status of women.
