Catherine Stewart

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

[1] She won the Wellington West electorate in the 1938 election, when she defeated long-standing MP Robert Wright.

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.

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.