Catherine Campbell Stewart (née Sword, 15 August 1881 – 2 April 1957) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Catherine Stewart
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wellington West
In office
15 October 1938 – 25 September 1943
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byCharles Bowden
Personal details
Born
Catherine Campbell Sword

(1881-08-15)15 August 1881
Glasgow, Scotland
Died2 April 1957(1957-04-02) (aged 75)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Charles Stewart
(m. 1900; died 1948)
Children3

Early life

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Born in Glasgow, she migrated with her family to New Zealand in 1921. She was an ardent suffragette, and a member of the Theosophical Society.[1] At Labour's 1938 conference Stewart stated "I am not speaking as a feminist but as a woman who wishes to stand shoulder to shoulder with our men" in her acceptance to stand as a party candidate.[1]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1938–1943 26th Wellington West Labour

She won the Wellington West electorate in the 1938 election, when she defeated long-standing MP Robert Wright.[2] She was the second woman to be elected to Parliament after Elizabeth McCombs and first to enter parliament as a result of a general election. Stewart saw herself as the "Member for Everywoman" and felt obliged to concentrate on issues in the interests of women, children and those in need.[1] In 1941, she was joined by Mary Dreaver, also of the Labour party, bringing the total of female MPs to two.[3]

Stewart was defeated in the next election held in 1943. This was seen as a result of public vilification due to two of her sons, who were conscientious objectors during World War II.[1] Later she was unsuccessfully nominated for a position on the New Zealand Legislative Council by Labour’s Karori branch in her old electorate.

In both 1941 and 1944 she unsuccessfully stood for the Wellington City Council on a Labour Party ticket.[4][5] Both elections saw all Labour candidates defeated.

After the death of her husband Charles in 1948, she returned to live in Glasgow, where she died on 2 April 1957.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Nicholls, Roberta. "Stewart, Catherine Campbell". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. ^ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  3. ^ Laracy, Hugh. "Dreaver, Mary Manson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  4. ^ "New City Council". The Evening Post. Vol. CXXXI, no. 116. 19 May 1941. p. 9. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  5. ^ "The City Council". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXII, no. 125. 29 May 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
  • Women in Parliamentary Life 1970-1990: Hocken Lecture 1993 by Marilyn Waring, page 35-36 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) ISBN 0-902041-61-4
New Zealand Parliament
New constituency Member of Parliament for Wellington West
1938–1943
Succeeded by