having been given the vote in 1893). Melville believed that: Together with Rosetta Baume and Aileen Cooke, Melville was one of the first three women to stand for Parliament in New Zealand. In the 1919 general election, she was the candidate for the Reform Party in the electorate of Grey Lynn. Despite the fact that this electorate was traditionally a Labour seat, she won 30.9% of the vote to Labour's 36.5%. Baume and Cooke also failed to be elected, and a political cartoon at the time showed two women standing outside a house labelled "Woman's Kingdom", with Baume saying to Melville: "After all, dear, there's no place like home for a woman. We can always get elected to this house without opposition." In the 1922 general election, she was not selected as a candidate, allegedly being blocked by political organiser Albert Davy. Melville believed that she had been blocked due to the Reform Party not wanting a woman as a candidate (in part because the selected candidate was a former member of the Liberal Party), and she stood as an independent candidate in Roskill. She was however selected as the Reform Party's candidate for Grey Lynn in the 1925 general election, and secured 5,296 votes against the incumbent's 6,061. The Hokitika Guardian noted that she had secured more votes "than any other woman has ever polled". In a 1926 by-election in Eden, after being dissatisfied with the Reform Party's process of candidate selection, she stood as an independent candidate. Having two candidates split the Reform Party's vote and assisted Rex Mason, the Labour Party candidate, to win the seat; an event which damaged her reputation within the party. She subsequently stood in the 1928 general election, the 1931 general election, and the 1943 election, generally performing well but never winning. Although unsuccessful, her campaigns gave her an opportunity to publicise and advance the interests of the NCW, including raising the age of consent and appointing women police. She was one of six candidates who stood for selection for the electorate by the National Party for the , but Harry Merritt was chosen instead. Later years and legacy In 1935, Melville was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1944, she founded the Women for Wellington movement, which encouraged women to stand for Parliament and other political offices, and provided training on public speaking and committee work. It was