When the Electoral Act passed in 1893, it granted a world first - voting rights to women in Aotearoa New Zealand. For the first time, the law declared that “person includes woman,” a landmark statement that recognised the legal and universal status of women in this country.
In recognition of that moment, this exhibition presents a powerful visual archive of women and girls captured by Whanganui photographer, William Harding in the decades leading up to this profound social and political change.
Recognised by UNESCO’s Memory of the World, Harding’s photographs offer a rare insight into a pivotal era; inviting us to reflect on the lived experience of women’s lives — while also confronting the enduring legacies of colonialism embedded in Aotearoa’s collective memory and identity.
Featuring both Māori and Pākehā women, their portraits navigate identity, resilience, and belonging — from childhood to motherhood, gender non-conformity to global entanglements. In an era when many women were denied full recognition or autonomy, the act of being photographed was itself a form of visibility, protest, and self-assertion. These portraits offer a rare and accessible record of lives often excluded from the official narrative — intimate moments of presence that push back against silence and erasure.
This exhibition honours these women whose silent gazes challenge us to remember, reckon with, and restore the stories that have too often been left untold.
Curated by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Property Lead, Helen Osborne. With the support of the Christchurch Art Gallery and the National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library.
Images: Unidentified woman. Harding, William James, 1826-1899: Negatives of Wanganui district. Ref: 1/4-030481-G . Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. Unidentified young Māori woman with clear chin moko. Harding, William James, 1826-1899: Negatives of Wanganui district. Ref: 1/4-030469-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
