White Ribbon

White Ribbon: for God, Home, and Humanity was the magazine of the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Movement (NZWCTU). The NZWCTU started in 1885, following the American movement that began in the United States in late 1873 and 1874. Alcohol was seen to be the cause of a number of social problems, such as poverty and violence, which impacted particularly on women. By 1883 the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union had been established, and as part of their missionary work, American WCTU member Mary Leavitt (1830-1912) visited New Zealand in 1885.

Leavitt travelled throughout the country giving public lectures. By the time she left, nine local unions had been established, and there were 15 up and running by the end of 1885. In February 1886 a national organisation was established, with Anne Ward (c.1826-1896) as the first president. There were already temperance organisations and lodges in New Zealand, but these were run by men – the NZWCTU was the first established and run specifically for women.

However, the WCTU’s remit, both overseas and in New Zealand, was wider than just temperance. As the subtitle of White Ribbon indicates, the organisation aimed to improve the safety of the home, to uplift humanity, and to promote Christianity. The NZWTU organised themselves to provide assistance to those in need, including recently released prisoners. They established seafarers’ rests, creches, hostels, and promoted various ways of improving health, including dress reform. They also campaigned against the Contagious Diseases Act of 1869, which they saw as reinforcing different standards of morality by punishing prostitutes but not the men who visited them.

It became obvious that the WCTU and women in general would have more ability to change society if they were able to vote. The NZWCTU’s work on the women’s suffrage in New Zealand, led by Kate Sheppard, is the most well-known of the New Zealand union’s campaigns and arguably the most successful. New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the vote in 1893.

One of the ways Sheppard promoted her message about suffrage was through the page she contributed to the Prohibitionist, published by the Sydenham Prohibition League, from 1891. The Christchurch union’s experience with this page formed the basis for their proposal that the NZWCTU should establish their own magazine.

The first issue of White Ribbon came out in May 1895. It was published monthly, and the first editor was Sheppard. White Ribbon included temperance stories, advice on caring for babies, and health advice, as well as reports from delegations to government ministers, from public meetings and from the local branches.

The name for the magazine came from the white ribbon, tied in a bow, that the WCTU had worn as a symbol of their ‘purity of purpose’ since the 1870s. Internationally, there were other White Ribbon publications, which included the White Ribbon Bulletin from the World WCTU, the Canadian White Ribbon Tidings, various White Ribbons from the different states of America and the White Ribbon Signals from New South Wales and Victoria, Australia.

Māori women also joined the NZWCTU, concerned about the impact of alcohol on their communities. The first Māori unions started in 1894. As well as pledging to abstain from alcohol and smoking, Māori women also had to agree to not get moko kauae (the female chin tattoo). After the first national convention for Māori members in April 1911, attended by 65 delegates from seven unions, reports from the Māori branches and the odd article were published in White Ribbon in te reo Māori. Te reo continued to be used for the occasional article until the late 1920s.

After Sheppard left in 1903, Lucy Lovell-Smith (1861-1936) was appointed as the second editor of White Ribbon. She was followed in 1908 by Harriette E. Oldham (c.1858-1916) and then Ellen Jane (known as Nellie) Peryman (1868-1947). Peryman remained the editor for 32 years, from 1913 to 1945. Mary Christian (1879-1979) took over as editor in April 1945. She was followed by Edith Singleton, who edited the magazine until her death in 1973. Jeanne Wood (1917-2007) then took over as editor for the next 15 years.

A page for children and a four-page supplement for the Loyal Temperance League, the youth wing, entitled the Beacon, were added during the 1920s. Initially published separately, these publications were included within White Ribbon from September 1939 but retained their own issue and page numbering. In 1965 the magazine became known as the New Zealand White Ribbon Digest and the youth supplements were removed. From 2001 it was simply known as the White Ribbon Digest.

During the twentieth century the NZWCTU continued to campaign against alcohol, and for restrictions around the number of licenced premises and hours of opening. They also continued to campaign around issues with a continued focus on social purity, the home and the family. These ideals sometimes conflicted with later feminist campaigns. Wood wrote in her centenary history of the NZWCTU ‘It is with great concern that the WCTU, a veteran in the ranks of women’s affairs, sees the treacherous gap widening between the aims and ideals of its pioneering women and the pursuits of many radical feminists today, some of which openly disclaim any dependence on God…’ (Introduction, n.p.) The membership of the NZWCTU had gradually declined, and in 2011 it stopped publishing White Ribbon Digest, instead publishing the White Ribbon Bulletin, which focuses more on the members. 

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Works cited

Wood, Jeanne. A Challenge, not a Truce. New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union, 1986.