Petitions and marches: voices that changed Aotearoa

Persuasion isn't only for ads and speeches. Some of the biggest changes in Aotearoa happened because people wrote a clear message, gathered support and delivered it to the people with power.

1893: votes for women

Kate Sheppard and other campaigners wrote leaflets and letters giving reasons why women should vote. They collected signatures on sheets of paper glued end to end. The 1893 petition was signed by nearly 24,000 women and rolled out in Parliament like a giant scroll. That year, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world where women could vote in national elections.

1972: te reo Māori petition

Te reo Māori was fading, and few schools taught it. Hana Te Hemara, Ngā Tamatoa and the Te Reo Māori Society spent many months door-knocking and gathering signatures in shops and workplaces. On 14 September 1972 they delivered a petition with more than 30,000 signatures asking for te reo Māori to be taught in schools. That day became Māori Language Day, which grew into Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

1975: 'Not one more acre'

Whina Cooper was 79 when she led the Māori land march from Te Hāpua in the far north to Parliament in Wellington, more than 1000 kilometres. The slogan was short and clear: 'Not one more acre of Māori land.' About 5000 people arrived at Parliament, and a petition signed by around 60,000 people was presented to the Prime Minister.

What they had in common