Composition

The mural was conceived of by Jan Morrison, who completed the project in collaboration with fellow feminist artist Claudia Pond Eyley, specifically for the multi-level site.

Composed of 2,000 brightly coloured glazed square ceramic tiles across multiple facades around the fountain and steps linking Khartoum Place and Te Hā o Hine Place in central Auckland, the dominant aspect of the mural depicts the 1893 petition with further panels showing prominent suffragists with links to Auckland, and women on bicycles – a crucial mode of transport used by campaigners gathering signatures in outlying areas.

Among the suffragists depicted are the first female Mayor in the British Empire, Elizabeth Yates, who was elected mayor of Onehunga in the 1893 election, as well as several founding members of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ), such as Amey Daldy, Annie Schnackenberg and Ada Wells. The NCWNZ Auckland branch annually commemorates Suffrage Day with an event at the memorial.

Notably, this expansion of suffrage included Māori and Pākehā women, recognised by the naming of Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia (Te Rarawa woman of mana and suffragist) in the flower wreath and a harakeke kete pattern which represents the weaving together of cultures.

The imagery in the uppermost panel locates the memorial in time and place by depicting iconic symbols of Auckland (Rangitoto, a relatively recent volcano), the wider region (as represented by a pōhutukawa and the huia, a now extinct native bird which was endemic to the North Island in 1893), and Aotearoa New Zealand (Southern Cross constellation denoting our place on the planet). Multiple panels also include the iconic white Kate Sheppard camellia.