Starving for the Vote | Te Papa

Museum of New Zealand

Te Papa Tongarewa

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Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour

Starving for the Vote

See Frances Parker’s Medal for Valour, awarded for her hunger strike protesting against voting inequality in Britain.

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When | Āhea

15 Sep – 12 Dec 2016

Where | Ki hea

Level 4

Cost | Te utu

Free exhibition

Allow | ME WHAKARITE

10 minutes

Find out how far New Zealander Frances Parker went in her fight for British women’s suffrage (the right to vote). Members of the Women’s Social and Political Union awarded her this Medal for Valour to recognise a hunger strike she went on while imprisoned in 1912.

Wander along from Espresso on Level 4 to take a look at the diminutive medal and its box, and to read Parker’s eye-watering account of being force fed.

Discover moreKia kitea ake

Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour

New Zealanders and the British suffrage movement

Find out how New Zealand citizens contributed to the suffrage movement in Britain.

Frances Parker is escorted from Ayr Sheriff Court, Scotland, 1914.

Who was Frances Parker?

Discover more about suffragette Frances Parker – the recipient of the Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour in our collections.

‘Your vote could make all the difference’: Women across Te Papa talk about their voting experiences

Frances Parker's bravery medal

Te Papa secures rare suffragette medal

26 February 2016 - A rare bravery medal awarded to New Zealander Frances Parker has been secured by Te Papa in an auction overnight.

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Exhibition highlights

Taonga whakaatu

Thumbnail of Object: Women's Social and Political Union Medal for Valour

Women's Social and Political Union Medal for Valour

Toye & Co.1912GH024772

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