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New Zealand's most prominent suffragette, Kate Sheppard led the campaign for women to gain the vote. When that goal was realised in 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing nation on Earth to grant the vote to all women.
Mary Carr Kate was born Catherine Wilson Malcolm, in Liverpool, England.
Mary Carr Kate set sail with her mother and family for Christchurch, New Zelaland, after her sister moved there to be with her husband.
Mary Carr Kate married Walter Alan Shappard, a shop owner and Christchurch City Councillor.
Mary Carr Kate gave birth to Douglas, her only child. He was to die at the age of 29 of pernicious anaemia.
Mary Carr By 1884, Sheppard was active in the Christchurch community, teaching Sunday school, and getting involved as Secretary of the Trinity Ladies' Association (through her involvement with the Trinity Congregational Church). In 1885, she joined the Riccarton Choral Society.
Mary Carr After hearing lectures by Mary Leavitt, who was on tour in New Zealand, from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of the United States, Sheppard became involved in establishing the Christchurch branch of the WCTU NZ. She also helped petition the government to prevent women becoming barmaids, and to stop the sale of alcohol to children. When the petitions were rejected, Sheppard realised that government would ignore petitions from women until they had the power to vote.
Mary Carr "All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome." — Kate Sheppard
Mary Carr The New Zealand Christian Women's Temperance Union was established, and Sheppard was soon appointed Superintendent for Relative Statistics, due to her interest in economics. As the Union expanded the following year, she became National Superintendent for the Franchise and Legislation.
Mary Carr After the WCTUNZ asked Member of Parliament and former Premier Sir Julius Vogel to introduce a suffrage bill legislating women's voting to Parliament, Sheppard campaigned strongly for its support. Later in the year, after the bill was defeated and withdrawn, she implored women to ask political candidates for their views on suffrage.
Mary Carr "Should Women Vote?", Sheppard's second pamphlet, was produced in response to the government's introduction of a bill that would continue to prevent women voting. She also arranged a petition for that exclusion to be removed. The House of Representatives passed a motion that voting rights should be extended to women, but a proposal to amend the Electoral Bill to give them the vote was ultimately defeated.
Mary Carr As President of the Christchurch branch of the WCTU NZ, Sheppard presented a report to the national convention, where suffrage and prohibition were chosen as the organisation's goals. She then published a pamphlet entitled, Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote, copies of which were distributed to all members of the New Zealand House of Representatives.
Mary Carr On the back of Sheppard's work drafting a petition, having it printed and circulated, and attracting more than 10,000 signatures, MP Sir John Hall tabled an amendment to the Electoral Bill to give women the vote. It passed in the House of Representatives by 25 votes, but failed in the Upper House on the fear that the amendment would, by extension, allow women to stand for parliament.
Mary Carr Sheppard co-founded the Christian Ethical Society, which provided a space for men and women from diverse backgrounds to discuss issues affecting society.
Mary Carr Sheppard took on editing the WCTU's page in the Prohibitionist, a temperance newspaper published every two weeks, with a national circulation of 20,000 people.
Mary Carr Sheppard delivered 20, 274 signatures to parliament in a petition to support a new Electoral Bill. Again it passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Upper House, which wanted women's votes to be postal, rather than by ballot.
Mary Carr Sheppard led the founding of the Christchurch Women's Institute, which was open to both women and men. She also took responsibility for its economics department.
Mary Carr A new Electoral Bill, which gave women the right to vote, passed the House of Representatives in August, and finally, the Upper House in September. It was supported by a 31,872-signature-strong petition organized by Sheppard, who was now acknowledged as the leader of the women's suffrage movement. Sheppard immediately worked to encourage women to register to vote in the coming election. Ultimately, 80% of women registered, and 70% voted in that election. (Image credit: Robert Cutts)
Mary Carr Sheppard was made President of the Christchurch branch of the WCTU NZ, and traveled to England the next year. When the group launched monthly journal The White Ribbon in 1895, Sheppard was Editor. She was re-elected editor in 1896. Image credit: Randolph Hollingsworth
Mary Carr Sheppard was elected President of the National Council of Women of New Zealand, a new group formed to promote women's issues, including the right to stand for parliament, equal pay, and women's economic independence after marriage.
Mary Carr The 1906 Exhibition in Christchurch included a display on the history of women's suffrage created by Sheppard. She went on to write the pamphlet Woman Suffrage in New Zealand for the International Women's Suffrage Alliance in 1907.
Mary Carr Sheppard was the first to sign a petition asking then-Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward to urge his British counterpart to give women the vote.
Mary Carr Sheppard died, leaving no direct descendants. She was buried in Addlington Cemetery alongside her mother and brother. (Image credit: Nate Cull)