Elizabeth Yates Mural (136 Onehunga Mall)

This mural, installed in 2019, depicts Elizabeth Yates, who was elected as Mayor of Onehunga in 1893. She was the first women elected to the office of mayor within the British Empire, taking her oath on 16 January 1894. Several male councillors, as well as the Town Clerk, resigned rather than serve under a ‘lady mayor’, and large crowds came to spectate at council meetings during her tenure, with their rowdiness causing difficulties in keeping order. The remaining councillors were also quite disorderly, with meetings descending into shouting matches with the mayor. Yates opposed spending money on piped water systems and campaigned to reopen Waikaraka Cemetery, which had been closed due to concerns about its proximity to the town’s springs. Unfortunately, during her term of office, an outbreak of typhoid was linked to the springs, and the controversy over this meant that the cemetery remained closed for another few years. She was defeated for re-election in November 1894.

Return to Onehunga Mall and continue north.