Kate Sheppard

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Kate Sheppard 1905

Kate Sheppard (* 1848 or March 10, 1847 in Liverpool , England , † July 13, 1934 in Christchurch , New Zealand ) was a social reformer , suffragette and the first president of the National Women's Council in New Zealand.

Life

Catherine Wilson Malcolm was born as the second eldest daughter of the Scottish family of Andrew Wilson Malcolm (1819–1862) and Jemima Crawford Souter (1822–1881). She had two sisters (Marie and Isabella) and two brothers (Robert and Frank). Catherine, who spent her early childhood in London , Nairn , Scotland, and Dublin , Ireland , changed her name to Katherine and later only used the short form Kate .

Her strictly Christian religious principles and pronounced social attitude were due to the influence of her uncle, who was pastor of the Free Church of Scotland in Nairn. With a good education, she possessed extensive knowledge in science, art and law.

Sheppard's grave in Addington

After the early death of their father in 1862, the entire family emigrated to New Zealand in 1868 and settled in Christchurch in the spring of 1869 . On July 21, 1871, she married the wholesale merchant Walter Allen Sheppard. With him she had a son, Douglas, who was born in Christchurch on October 8, 1880. Kate Sheppard survived her husband, who died in 1915, and her son, who died in 1910. At the age of 78, 10 years after the death of her first husband, she remarried. The wedding with the 72-year-old William Sidney Lovell-Smith took place on August 15, 1925.

Kate Sheppard died on July 13, 1934 in her home town of Riccarton (now Christchurch) at the age of 87. Her home was classified as Kate Sheppard House in 2010 by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I Monument.

Act

During the early years of their marriage, Kate was involved in the Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch, attending Bible studies and fundraising. She later became secretary of the Ladies Association and became involved in the fight against alcoholism in the family.

In 1885 Mary Leavitt , a delegate from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), came to New Zealand from the United States and founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand with Kate Sheppard . It quickly became clear to the women that they could only achieve more politically if women had the right to vote and could be elected themselves. For this purpose, the Franchise Department (electoral law department) was established within the WCTU in New Zealand in 1887 , the director of which was Kate Sheppard. From now on she led the campaign to introduce full suffrage for women in New Zealand.

1888 she published the highly influential magazine Ten reasons why New Zealand women should receive the right to vote (Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote) and showed in a very independent, fearless mindset: the importance of women raising children give them the opportunity to look beyond the moment; their weaker physical constitution teaches them consideration and commitment to the preservation of peace, law and order, above all to raise rights over power; doubling the electorate would reduce the risk of corruption; and, last but not least, a democracy like New Zealand should recognize that all innocent people should participate in the drafting of laws that should apply to all.

Between 1888 and 1893 she organized five parliamentary petitions . In the fifth campaign in 1893, she got 31,872 signatures from fellow campaigners; that was a third of all New Zealand women over the age of 21. This leverage finally helped the male parliamentarians to change the Electoral Act accordingly on September 19, 1893 . This made New Zealand, apart from the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific , the first country in the world (including colonies) in which women were granted the right to vote. A success that was also reflected in the subsequent turnout. Approximately 85% of all eligible women over 21 years of age registered to vote and 65% of them exercised their right to vote and went to vote in 1893.

In 1894 Kate Sheppard traveled to England to strengthen the English women's movement with her committed speeches and her experience in the struggle for women's suffrage . In 1895 she took part as a delegate from New Zealand to the World Conference of the WCTU in London. Her speeches there received general attention. She was then asked by the International Women's Council in London to found a National Council of Women in New Zealand .

Back in New Zealand, she found that the founding preparations for this were already underway. At the inaugural conference in April 1896, Kate Sheppard was elected first president of the New Zealand National Women's Council, a role she held for three years.

The journal The White Ribbon , founded by WCTU in 1895, was for a long time the only newspaper in New Zealand exclusively produced by women. With the very active participation of Kate Sheppard, the journal became the mouthpiece of both organizations, the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the National Women's Council of New Zealand.

Kate Sheppard's most active political time as a social reformer was from 1887 to 1902. In April 1903, she resigned from her offices at the WCTU conference in Dunedin for health reasons. At the request of her husband, both went back to England in July 1903. In London, her health had improved somewhat, she again stood up publicly and with commitment for the rights of women. In September 1904 she went back to New Zealand and was due to run for the WCTU again because of staff shortages. She refused and, at the age of 59, withdrew from public political life due to her deteriorating health. She died on July 13, 1934 at the age of 87.

In 1990 the Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to renew all banknotes. Since then, Kate Sheppard has graced the front of the New Zealand $ 10 banknote .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ There is conflicting information about Kate Sheppard's date and year of birth. British sources and about half of New Zealand sources assume March 10, 1847. The other half of New Zealand sources only give 1848 as the year of birth.
  2. ^ Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 110.
personal data
SURNAME Sheppard, Kate
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilson Malcolm, Catherine (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand suffragette
DATE OF BIRTH March 10, 1847 or 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool , England , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 1934
Place of death Riccarton , New Zealand