NEW ZEALAND FEMINIST KATE SHEPPARD

   

In 1992 four New Zealand icons (and the queen) appeared on new banknotes. Part of creating national identity, these notable citizens were chosen to represent the pinnacles of achievement.

Apirana Ngata, Edmund Hillary, Ernest Rutherford and Kate Sheppard — all in circulation so their acts and values can be admired, celebrated and emulated.

Collectively, the banknote icons signalled a bicultural nation that celebrates Maori knowledge and success, a place where women are equal and where it is possible to lead the world, including in science and exploration.

   

So what of Kate Sheppard's position? A year after she graced the $10 note, she was put on another pedestal, literally. Unveiled in 1993, the national memorial provides a useful interpretation of the suffrage leader's place in the collaborative women's movement of the late 19th century.

The memorial's Christchurch location, Sheppard's name in its title and her central position cast in bronze all recognise her leadership. But the monument also recognises how, after the victory, she brought together the networks that had formed during the suffrage campaign.

Sheppard became the first president of the National Council of Women (NCW) in 1896, but flanking her in bronze are others central to the women's movement.

To read the complete article, see:
On the money: Kate Sheppard and the making of a New Zealand feminist icon (https://theconversation.com/on-the-money-kate-sheppard-and-the-making-of-a-new-zealand-feminist-icon-167627)

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