Since the flowering of the sasanqua camellias on my birthday, I have noticed references to camellias blooming all over my field of vision. Well, by all over, I mostly mean the internet. It’s as if a silent, floral force of camellias has stealthily invaded my cyberspace whilst I have had my eyes temporarily distracted by its earthly representatives. I feel as though I am being camellia-stalked….yes, really, stalked! But that is an unkind thought so I will attribute a purer motive; here it is. Camellias are simply experimenting with ways to communicate with our increasingly de-naturalised societies.
Who knows? Not me. But, what I do know, is that in the past week I have encountered abundant camellias on the bush in RL. And, in my internet life, I have met them in books, blogs, movies, opera, history, (thanks to this wonderful post by blogger Valerie Davies (http://valeriedavies.com/2012/05/ ), and in politics. Today, I also realised, back in real life, that I often carry camellias in my pocket, for these natural beauties have infiltrated the financial realm. They are part of our currency.
Three white camellia blooms appear on the New Zealand $10 note. They sit in the company of Kate Sheppard; the woman who is credited with leading the fight for women’s suffrage in New Zealand. Thanks to Kate and her campaigners, New Zealand became, in 1893, the first self-governing nation in the world to grant the vote to all women over the age of 21.( http://www.christchurch.org.nz/Women/ ) When the Electoral Bill was before Parliament, women suffragettes handed out white camellias to those Members of Parliament who supported the Bill.
Why camellias were chosen to represent women’s right to vote, I have not yet discovered. It may be that the choice was made under the influence of a popular Victorian interest in floriology and tussie-mussies. But it’s most likely that the reason for their choice was more prosaic than that; the camellias would have been one of the few flowers in plentiful supply in September. Whatever the reason, the white camellia became, and remains, the symbol of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.
Kate Sheppard was born in Liverpool in March 1847. She arrived in Christchurch in 1869 and here she stayed. ( http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Society/People/S/Sheppard-Kate/ ) She was a founding member of the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union which soon realised that, if women had the right to vote, it would be easier to achieve reforms concerning temperance and the welfare of women and children.
Much as I love our ten-dollar bank-note, I wonder how Kate, as a pillar of the temperance movement, would feel about her face gracing a bill that provides a means to buy alcohol. She might disapprove, or she might see some irony in the possibility of a drinker confronting her in the eye before making a purchase.
Overall, I think she would probably see the bigger picture too. As a excellent strategist she would understand that, by having her features constantly in the public arena, the importance of women’s suffrage for the general good of humankind would never be forgotten. But enough of Kate. Let’s return to the camellia, who, it seems to me, is every inch as skilled a strategist as Kate and her suffragettes. How clever was the camellia to make itself irresistible to a winning campaign; to ensure a lasting place alongside the legacy of one of the most influential women in the world. It guaranteed not only its survival, but its proliferation. Nice work from a little flower that let’s us believe that all it does is pose languidly in our gardens.
The question?
Can Kate and the camellia’s winning ways rub off on our precious and vulnerable blue whio featured on the reverse of the ten-dollar note?http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/wetland-birds/blue-duck-whio/facts/about-whio/
A Tussie-mussie: In Kate Greenaway’s book The Language of Flowers, the white camellia japonica symbolises Perfected Loveliness.
© silkannthreades
Too bad there wasn’t the interest in native plants back then that there is now (at least in some circles), or else Kate Sheppard might have chosen something indigenous as her symbol.
Some were very interested in native plants http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3c25/cockayne-leonard I don’t know about Kate. She surely would have been aware of Cockayne’s work.
Thanks for the link. You probably won’t be surprised that I’d not heard of Cockayne until now. Live and learn.
Not at all surprised. I only learned of him last year!
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A nice post. These women did incredibly important job for us. Without their courage, we would maybe still be second class citizens, like in some unlucky countries.
I agree. And, sadly, we are forgetting them and what they did for us.
Hmm! Interesting! NZ has pretty dollars.. I think I’ve heard them be called lunies sometimes too 😮 wonder why…
I wonder too.
The Canadian dollar coin is referred to as a loonie because it bears an image of the bird called a loon.
I did not know that.
And some people joke that the name confirms that Canadians are as crazy as a loon.
I did wonder about that! Poor Loons…I am sure they don’t deserve such a reputation. 😉
what such famous name of Camellia. when you visit my country, Camellias are everywhere. They talk,sing,think,sleep and even cry in their own beauties. sometimes looks so fragile like any other woman in confusion. Lovely post, happy BD and I just love it.
Thank you and I am so pleased you enjoyed my post. You are lucky to have so many camellias in your country.
hmmmmm….if you have time, can you fix the typos on my comment???? I type too fast! ):
Oh; um, I will try. Haven’t attempted that sort of thing yet. But I like typos. They make life interesting. 🙂
Stunning photo! Fascinating post! Interesting history! Happy B’day to ma deah! Your rock~
Thank you.
Isn’t it fascinating how the mind brings together what we think as desperate pieces, especially those that symbolize this or that. Really enjoyed this post.
Yes, I find it very intriguing and I am so glad you enjoyed my ramblings.
I like how you bring camellias and Kate together, I have learned more about your country and I have an explanation for why I am seeing a lot of camellias in my life right now. I like that they are finding a voice. We can plant them here but we are on the northern edge of their ability to thrive. Maybe I’ll try anyway.
Yes, have a go. You may find you have a small micro climate in your garden that suits them very well. Then it would be another small victory for the proliferation of the camellia 🙂
I’ve scrabbled through the internet to get here, and love it. What I can’t understand is that I am supposedly following you, but have never yet had any blogs posted from you… when blips occur on the internet I feel completely powerless.
Anyway, thank you so much for your lovely mention in this fascinating post, and I will try to keep up with you by the way I got here, via your gravatar…!
How vexing. But at least you found me! I find that although I click Follow I also have to go to my Reader, and then click on edit on the right hand side of the page next to Blogs I Follow; then I find the blog I am following and click on instant notification of posts from that blogger. Even then, I sometimes miss posts!
a Most informative and excellent post!
we love that Kate was a fierce scouser from the ‘Pool – makes sense – those women are extraordinary.
and here’s another tussie mussie quote for your delight:
“February 26, 1950: A dear near neighbour brought me a tussie-mussie this week. The dictionary defines tuzzy-muzzy, or tussie-mussie, as a bunch or a posy of flowers, a nosegay, and then disobligingly adds that the word is obsolete. I refuse to regard it as obsolete. It is a charming word;”
(Vita Sackville-West)
Oh Vita, I have always loved you. Now I love you more. A Tussie-mussie is a charming word. How dare the dictionary obsolete it! Kate was extraordinary. The house which was built for Kate is used for functions now and the present owner has created a garden that Vita would admire.
Great post; great quote from Rebecca as usual; and Kate is even surviving a hole in the banknote you have photographed – amazing! Love those blue whios too.
Yes, I am so pleased to have Rebecca’s quote. Oh dear, but it is not a hole in the note. The note has two transparent sections, almost a type of watermark I suppose.( I don’t know the technical terms.) I hoped that by placing purple paper behind the note that these transparent sections could be seen more clearly. But, clearly, that is not the case :(. I am sure Kate could survive a hole and much more!
Now that you have explained the translucent sections, the note (and Kate) looks even more beautiful!
I think our money is rather beautiful. Just a pity that I don’t see more of it 😀 !
I like Kate Sheppard! I never heard of her before – so thank you for the story. I found one of her quotes – it gave me goosebumps. Extraordinary woman; extraordinary times.
“Is it right that your mother, your sister… should be classed with criminals and lunatics… ? Is it right that while the gambler, the drunkard, and even the wife-beater has a vote, earnest, educated and refined women are denied it?… Is it right… that a mother… should be thought unworthy of a vote that is freely given to the blasphemer, the liar, the seducer, and the profligate?”
Excellent. We have so much to thank her for. My post only scrapes the surface of her contribution to our lives.