Kate Edger

Kate Milligan Evans (née Edger, 6 January 1857 – 6 May 1935) was the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree.[1]

Early life

Edger was born in 1857 at Abingdon, Berkshire, England. Her family emigrated from England to New Zealand in 1862. She and her sisters received much of their early education from their father. They lived in Albertland and then in Auckland, and as there was no higher education for girls at the time, but she showed academic promise, she was placed in the top class of the Auckland College and Grammar School; she was the only girl in the class. On 11 July 1877 she graduated from the University of New Zealand with a BA in Mathematics and Latin.[2] When Kate applied to the senate of the University of New Zealand for permission to sit for a university scholarship she did not state her gender and her application was successful. She was the only female in classes at Auckland College and Grammar School, which was affiliated to the University of New Zealand. ( Auckland University College was yet to be established.) She graduated in 1877 with a Bachelor of Arts (specialising in mathematics and Latin) from the University of New Zealand.

Family

Kate Edger was a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Edger, a Christian minister[3] who brought his family from England with the Albertland settlers to New Zealand in 1862. A university graduate himself, he supported Kate and her sister Lilian in their efforts to gain higher education.[4]

Edger's sister Gertrude had a daughter, Geraldine Hemus, who became the third woman in New Zealand to be admitted to practice law as a barrister and solicitor.[5][6]

Legacy

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust provides financial assistance for women pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate degrees.[7] In 2004 the Kate Edger Information Commons was created at The University of Auckland.[8]

In September 2018, the Department of Mathematics at the University of Auckland was temporarily renamed to the "Kate Edgar Department of Mathematics" to mark the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Ministry for Culture and Heritage. "Kate Edger". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  2. ↑ Hughes, Beryl. "Edger, Kate Milligan". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Robert S. Ellwood (January 1993). Islands of the Dawn: The Story of Alternative Spirituality in New Zealand. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 263–. ISBN 978-0-8248-1487-8.
  4. ↑ "More About the Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust | Academic Dress Hire | Graduation & Academic Regalia". Auckgradwomen.org.nz. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Beryl (1992). Redbrick and Bluestockings: Women at Victoria, 1899-1993. Wellington. New Zealand: Victoria University Press. p. 23.
  6. ↑ "New Zealand Law Society". www.lawsociety.org.nz. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  7. ↑ Auckgradwomen.org. "The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  8. ↑ Auckgradwomen.org. "About Kate Edger". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "Suffrage 125 – Women in Science". University of Auckland, Faculty of Science. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
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