Enamel Votes for Women Brooch with Historical Significance

Heart shape silver backed panel of purple and green enamel with white panel titled 'Votes for Women', reserve engraved with entwined initials Hm -1913- marked Stg Silver. 37 mm length, enamelled brooch designed and made by Ernestine Mills for a supporter of the women's Freedom League. Inscribed 'Votes for Women', possibly produced by Mills for sale in a Wfl fundraising bazaar or as a private commission., 1893 New Zealand women are granted the right to vote, Ellen Melville became an Auckland city councillor in 1913 and in 1919, the Women's Parliamentary Rights Act passed into law - women could stand for election to the house of Representatives, Elizabeth McCombs became New Zealand's first female MP in 1933