Histories are usually HIS stories – following the deeds of men – but looking at events and eras though the experiences of women gives a very different perspective.
Barbara Brookes does just this in the new illustrated book A History of New Zealand Women.
It tells the stories of women, from those who arrived in the first waka through to those who held powerful positions by the end of the 20th century.
Barbara Brookes covers social and economic change – the fights for suffrage, equality, the right to vote – and groundbreaking New Zealand women such as Kate Sheppard, Whina Cooper and Jean Batten, as well as intimate and domestic stories.
Listen to Barbara Brookes in conversation with Philippa Tolley.
Barbara Brookes is Professor of History at the University of Otago, and she has long been interested in gender relations and the history of health and disease in New Zealand and Britain.
