Auckland lawyer Ellen Melville (1882–1946) was the first woman elected to a city council in New Zealand. She served on the Auckland City Council from 1913 to 1946. In 1906 she became the second woman admitted to the bar in New Zealand (after Ethel Benjamin). In 1919, the first general election in which women were allowed to stand for Parliament, Melville unsuccessfully contested the Grey Lynn seat for the Reform Party. She stood at a further six elections but was unable to secure a victory.
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