Kate Sheppard led the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand -
the first country in the world to give women the vote.

About

Katherine Wilson Sheppard (10 March 1847–13 July 1934) was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on 10 March 1847 to Scottish parents Jemima Crawford Souter and Andrew Wilson Malcolm . Her childhood was spent in London, Nairn in Scotland, and Dublin Ireland.

Sheppard's birth name was Catherine Wilson Malcolm. She preferred to spell her first name name "Katherine", or abbreviate it to "Kate". She received a good education, and was noted for her intellectual ability. Kate's father had a love of music which he passed on to her. For a time she lived with her uncle, a minister of the free church at Nairn. In 1869, several years after the death of her father,

Sheppard was taken by her mother to Christchurch. She married Walter Allen Sheppard three years later, and their only child Douglas was born on 8 December 1880.

• Woman's Suffrage Movement

  Early years:. In 1885, Sheppard becamea founding member of the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union, part of the larger temperance movement. Sheppard's involvement arose primarily from her religious beliefs, which she had derived from her mother.

• Woman's Christian Temperance Union

  The purpose of the WCTU was to combat the influence of alcohol on families and society. It's basic philosophy wasshould something be good, it should not be indulged in to excess. The WCTU perceived alcoholism as a consequence of larger social problems rather than as a personal weakness or failing.

  The WCTU was very interested in a number of social reform issues including: labor, prostitution, public health, sanitation and international peace. As the movement grew in numbers and strength, members of the WCTU also focused on suffrage. The WCTU was instrumental in organizing woman's suffrage leaders and in helping more women become involved in politics.

  It was quickly realised by the Union that proposed social and legislative reforms concerning the welfare of women and children would be more effectively carried out if women possessed the right to vote and the right to representation in Parliament.

• Legislation

  The Women’s Christian Temperance Union took the first of three major petitions to Parliament in 1891. It was supported in Parliament by John Hall, Alfred Saunders, and the Premier, John Ballance. It was signed by more than 9,000 women, and the second in 1892 by more than 19,000. A third petition, still larger, was presented in 1893.

  That year, a women's suffrage bill was successfully passed, granting women full voting rights. Sheppard herself was widely acknowledged as the leader of the women's suffrage movement. The Electoral Act 1893 was passed on 19 September and Kate Sheppard received a telegram from the premier, Richard Seddon, previously her political enemy in the House, conceding victory to the women.

• National Council of Women

  The year after women's suffrage was achieved, Sheppard returned to England for a short time, where she met prominent British suffragettes and gave a number of high profile speeches. Returning home to New Zealand, she was elected president of the newly-founded National Council of Women of New Zealand which had considerable influence on public opinion. Sheppard later became involved in the production of the Council's newspaper, the White Ribbon.

  Many ideas that Sheppard championed were related to improving the situation and status of women - in particular, she was concerned about establishing legal and economic independence of women from men.

Later Life

In 1903, Sheppard stepped down from her positions at the National Council of Women due to ill health. Later that year, she and her husband moved to England, intending to retire there. She briefly stopped in Canada and the United States, meeting American suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. In London, she was active in promoting women's suffrage in Britain, but was soon unable to continue her work due to ill health.

In 1904 Sheppard returned to New Zealand. She remained relatively inactive in political circles, but continued to write. She continued to influence the New Zealand women's movement and in 1916 Sheppard and a group of other prominent suffragettes were able to revitalise the National Council of Women, which had gone into recess.

Sheppards' first husband, Walter Allen Sheppard, died in 1915 in England. In 1925, Kate married William Sidney Lovell-Smith, Lovell-Smith died only four years later. Sheppard died in Christchurch on 13 July 1934.

Sheppard is considered to be an important figure in New Zealand's history. A memorial to her exists in Christchurch, and her image appears on New Zealand's ten dollar note.