Catherine Stewart

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 Theosophical Society. 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 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.