Margaret MacPherson (writer)

Margaret Louise MacPherson (née Kendall; 19 June 1895 – 14 September 1974) was a New Zealand journalist, editor and writer.

Biography

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Kendall was born in Leeds, England, in 1895. She was educated at University of St Andrews, Scotland.[1]

She married Alfred Sinclair MacPherson, elder brother of Rev. William MacPherson, Dean of Lichfield.[2][3] The new couple later moved to New Zealand. Together, they had five sons.[1]

After the birth of her children, she became the writer of a column called 'Wahine', in the Maoriland Worker. In the early 1920s she began editing Northlander in Kaitaia. In 1925 she and her husband divorced. Next she took a position writing the women's column in Guardian, also in Kaitaia. Other positions took her to several countries. She also wrote several books.[1]

She died in Kaitaia, New Zealand, in 1974.[1]

Activism

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In 2013, MacPherson's grandson, Reynold MacPherson, wrote Lovers and Husbands and What-Not: A Biography of Margaret L. MacPherson, which outlines her activism leading the New Zealand Movement against War and Fascism.[4] The book also discusses the many other causes she took up in her lifetime, including indigenous rights, equal rights for women, and Marxism.[4]

Selected works

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  • A Symposium Against War (1934)[5]
  • Antipodean Journey (1937)[6]
  • I Heard the Anzacs Singing (1942)[6]
  • New Zealand Beckons (1952)[7]
  • They Built for the Future (1964)[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Green, Anna. "Macpherson, Margaret Louisa". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. ^ 1901 England Census
  3. ^ West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1910
  4. ^ a b Macpherson, Reynold (2013). Lovers and husbands and what-not : a biography of Margaret L. Macpherson. Houston: Strategic Book Pub. and Rights. Co. ISBN 978-1-61897-529-4. OCLC 848019737.
  5. ^ Macpherson, Margaret L; Council Against War (1934). A symposium against war. Wellington [N.Z.: New Zealand Worker. OCLC 155899401.
  6. ^ a b "Macpherson, Margaret Louisa (1895–1974) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ^ Google books (1952). New Zealand beckons. Retrieved 27 December 2011. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Macpherson, Margaret (1964). They built for the future; a chronicle of Makerere University College, 1922-1962. Cambridge [England: University Press. OCLC 192007.