Person Includes Woman: Opening Night
It’s 132 years since the women's vote was granted, this exhibition challenges us to remember, reckon and restore stories - too often left untold.
Opening on Suffrage Day, Person Includes Woman: Portraits of Nineteenth-Century Women Confronting the Lens showcases rarely seen glass plate photographs by Whanganui photographer William Harding (1826–1899). Recognised by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, Harding’s portraits endure as both art and witness—restoring stories too often silenced in colonial archives.
Few visual records capture the presence and diversity of women in colonial Aotearoa New Zealand as powerfully as the portraits of Wanganui photographer William Harding (1826–1899). Taken in the decades before women’s suffrage was achieved 132 years ago, these images speak of resilience, presence, and dignity in a society undergoing profound change. From unnamed sitters to women whose moko assert whakapapa, each image confronts us across more than a century, insisting on recognition.
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.
Opening on Suffrage Day, Person Includes Woman: Portraits of Nineteenth-Century Women Confronting the Lens showcases rarely seen glass plate photographs by Whanganui photographer William Harding (1826–1899). Recognised by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, Harding’s portraits endure as both art and witness—restoring stories too often silenced in colonial archives.
Few visual records capture the presence and diversity of women in colonial Aotearoa New Zealand as powerfully as the portraits of Wanganui photographer William Harding (1826–1899). Taken in the decades before women’s suffrage was achieved 132 years ago, these images speak of resilience, presence, and dignity in a society undergoing profound change. From unnamed sitters to women whose moko assert whakapapa, each image confronts us across more than a century, insisting on recognition.
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.
Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House, 83 Clyde Road, Ilam
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