Heritage Sites • History

Kate Sheppard House

Client

Location

Completed

Heritage New Zealand

Christchurch, New Zealand

2020

The Result

“Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.”

- Kate Sheppard

In 1893, led by the extraordinary Kate Sheppard, women in New Zealand won the right to vote. In 2020, 127 years later, we were hired by Heritage New Zealand to transform the Christchurch home where Kate lived while assembling her “monster petition” into a visitor experience that tells the story of Kate’s life, her leadership and her lasting impact today.

The bright interior of Kate’s former Christchurch home has been restored with carefully chosen of-the-era furniture that transports the visitor back in time to Kate’s 19th century New Zealand. Looking closely, visitors can discover stories of incredible activism, bravery and a passion for women’s rights as they are woven into the very fabric of the curtains, furniture and wallpaper of the house.

Within each room of Kate Sheppard’s home, the visitor gets a glimpse into her family and private life. Historic portraits, objects she owned, and replicas of things she might have possessed reveal stories of her life and suffrage work. A 3D timeline stretches around the walls of the library and lays out the remarkable achievements that women, such as Kate Sheppard, have accomplished throughout New Zealand’s history to grant women the rights we hold today.