Who was Armine Nutting Gosling?

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A leader with wide sympathies, Armine Nutting Gosling (1861-1942) campaigned for votes for women, first in St. John's where in 1921 a limited property-based franchise was instituted. Describing this as a "stepping stone to greater things" she then led the island-wide Women's Franchise League to victory in 1925. She also provided leadership to child welfare, maternal health and animal rights movements, and reforms in girl's education and women's sports. Learn more about her life here and scroll down to watch a short video about her life from our friends at Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador.
No class, or race, or sex can have its interests attended to...
​unless it is represented by direct suffrage."

Why this initiative is vital

Sharing the “herstory” of a woman of distinction, whose work helped shape the lives of those choosing a different path from tradition, will inspire others to take bold steps in forging their own life trajectory. Weaving the significant contributions of women back into our historical narrative is a critical stepping stone to equality and towards balanced representation.

Through a realized design by artist Sheila Coultas, Gosling will be commemorated life-sized, in bronze, in Bannerman Park, St. John’s. It will be the first singular statue to a named woman in the City of St. John's, and will also be the first public statue in the province designed by a woman.
St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.