Kate Sheppard

hello my name is ollie brown and here are some facts about Kate Sheppard. Born in Liverpool in 1847, Kate Malcolm migrated to Christchurch in her early twenties and in 1871 married merchant Walter Sheppard. In 1885 she joined the new WCTU, which advocated women’s suffrage as a means to fight for liquor prohibition. For Kate Sheppard, suffrage quickly became an end in itself. Speaking for a new generation, she argued, ‘We are tired of having a “sphere” doled out to us, and of being told that anything outside that sphere is “unwomanly”.’

Kate Sheppard was the leading light of the New Zealand women’s suffrage movement. In recent years her contribution to New Zealand’s identity has been acknowledged on the $10 note and a cool stamp!!