Kate W. Sheppard

Kate Sheppard was born on the 10 March 1847 in Liverpool, England. Her full name is Katherine Wilson Sheppard but she preferred Kate for short. Her parents, Jemima Crawford Souter and, Andrew Wilson Malcolm, were Scottish. Kate’s father was known as a banker, but sadly he died when Kate was only 15, in 1862. After that Kate’s mother, Jemima, took her and her two other brothers over to New Zealand, in 1868 and then settled in Christchurch.

Kate Sheppard/Portrait (folj.com)

In 1871, Kate got married to a merchant named Walter Allen Sheppard, they got married in Christchurch. They had one son together, his name was Douglas, and he was born in 1880. Kate was very active in her church, and was highly religious. She later became a big leader in the fight for women’s rights, and to educate women to better their own situations. Up until then, a married woman had no rights to vote, to any monetary possessions or even to their own children. Their husbands held those rights for them. If a women were to leave her husband she would have no financial support at all, and would even lose the right to raise her own children.

To win women the right to vote in elections, Kate organized petitions to Parliament asking for the right for women to vote, to be allowed. They ended up persuading Sir John Hill, who was a leading member in parliament, to support them in their march for women’s rights.

Kate’s partition in parliament had nearly 32,000 signatures on it. On 19 September 1893, Kate Sheppard won the war; she won the right for women to vote in New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country in which all women have the right to vote. Kate later travelled over to England and America to help the women campaigning over in those countries, for the right to vote. She was involved in the editing of a newspaper called “The white ribbon,” the first paper to be solely owned and operated by women. Kate had devoted her whole life to making things better for women, and families in particular.

Statue of Kate Sheppard (christchurchdailyphoto.com)

She had a strong sense of responsibility to people, especially those in need. Sadly she died at the age of 87 on the 13th July 1934. She made a big impact on many people’s lives, and inspired women to follow in her footsteps by changing the way we live, today.

What Kate Sheppard did affects most of the women in this world. She made life fairer and easier for all women. She is a big inspiration for me and many other people. She stood up for her herself and her rights, that’s what I think many of us today need to do but can’t. That’s what matters most, is the need of people today.

I believe that Kate’s life is best summed up by this quote that appeared in the Christchurch Times at her death:

“A great woman has gone whose name will remain an inspiration to the daughters of New Zealand, while our history endures”.