From Kakahu schoolroom to journalism, poetry and reform
1864–1938
Teacher
Poet, journalist
Women’s rights and social reform
A plaque at the former Kakahu Bush School remembers Jessie Mackay as a teacher. Teaching was only one part of a life that connected rural South Canterbury with national debates about women, work, justice and literature.
Jessie was born at Double Hill Station, above the Rakaia Gorge, on 15 December 1864. Her father, Robert Mackay, later managed Raincliff and Opuha Gorge stations, giving Jessie a substantial childhood connection with inland South Canterbury. She was educated at home before training at Christchurch Normal School.
She taught at Kakahu Bush School from 1887 to 1890 and at Ashwick Flat, near Fairlie, during 1893 and 1894. Small rural schools placed teachers at the centre of scattered communities, although the surviving sources say little about Jessie’s individual pupils or her everyday classroom methods.
In 1898, Jessie moved to Dunedin and began developing a career in journalism. She wrote for the Otago Witness for about 30 years and became “lady editor” of the Canterbury Times in 1906. After that newspaper closed, she contributed to the WCTU journal White Ribbon and several overseas feminist publications.
Her journalism supported causes including women’s political representation, better pay for women, women in the police force, penal reform, temperance and opposition to animal experimentation.
Jessie was involved in the women’s suffrage movement and the National Council of Women. She was one of three women who helped initiate the Council’s revival after 1916. It has also been reported that she collected names for a suffrage petition, but the wording of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography is cautious.
Jessie saw herself principally as a poet. (Some records state she was New Zealand’s first native-born poet, however I am not sure how they substantiated that fact). Her first collection appeared in 1889, followed by several further volumes. Her poems addressed women, political oppression, Scottish stories and events such as Parihaka.
Some of her work challenged the Pākehā violence and greed behind the New Zealand Wars. That is important, but I am mindful that this did not give her authority to speak for Māori communities or make her interpretations culturally complete. I recognise that Māori scholarship and mana whenua perspectives are needed when discussing the people and histories she represented.
Jessie died in Christchurch on 23 August 1938. A poetry prize was established in her memory that same year.
Her impact crossed several fields. She taught in rural South Canterbury, helped create an audience for New Zealand writing and used journalism and poetry to argue that women and marginalised people deserved fuller participation in public life.
Read the WuHoo story: From Kakahu School to Suffrage: Jessie Mackay’s Timaru Roots and National Legacy
Sources
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Jessie Mackay
Supports her family, South Canterbury childhood, teaching appointments, journalism, political activity, writing and death.
Timaru District Council: Jessie Mackay
Confirms her local teaching appointments, major publications and principal reform interests.
Aoraki Heritage Collection: Jessie Mackay
Connects her with Raincliff, Kakahu and Ashwick Flat.