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

Early life

Born in Glasgow, she migrated with her family to New Zealand in 1921. She was an ardent suffragette, and a member of the

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. 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.

Political career

She won the Wellington West electorate in the , when she defeated long-standing MP Robert Wright. She was the second woman to be elected to Parliament after

Elizabeth McCombs Elizabeth Reid McCombs (née Henderson, 19 November 1873 – 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who in 1933 became the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand women gained the right to vote in ...

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. In 1941, she was joined by Mary Dreaver, also of the Labour party, bringing the total of female MPs to two. Stewart was defeated in the next election held in . This was seen as a result of public vilification due to two of her sons, who were conscientious objectors during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Later she was unsuccessfully nominated for a position on the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council () was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853), legislative councils for the colony and provinces ...

by Labour’s

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

branch in her old electorate. In both

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

she unsuccessfully stood for the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

on a Labour Party ticket. 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.

References

* *''Women in Parliamentary Life 1970-1990: Hocken Lecture 1993'' by Marilyn Waring, page 35-36 (Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1994) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Catherine 1881 births 1957 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Politicians from Glasgow New Zealand suffragists Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians