McCarthy, Mary Ann Recknall (1866–1933)

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McCarthy, Mary Ann Recknall (1866–1933)

New Zealand teacher, temperance reformer, and political activist. Born Aug 11, 1866, in Dunedin, New Zealand; died Oct 13, 1933, in Dunedin; dau. of Samuel McCarthy (locksmith) and Elizabeth Ann (Pyke) McCarthy.

Trained at Dunedin Normal School and Dunedin Training College (early 1900s); assumed control of Waihao Downs School (1905–13); active in New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), becoming national superintendent for purity and moral education (1916); formed Dunedin branch of Women's International League (1917); represented New Zealand Section of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) at International Congress of Women in Zurich (1919); joined New Zealand Labor Party, spoke on its behalf and helped to establish new branches; also interested in internationalism and promotion of Esperanto.

See also Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (Vol. 3).

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