Stella Henderson

Stella May Henderson
Henderson at the time of her graduation in 1893
Born	25 October 1871 Kaiapoi, New Zealand
Died	1 March 1962 Melbourne, Australia
Alma mater	Canterbury College
Known for	First woman Parliamentary newspaper reporter in New Zealand
Relatives	Elizabeth McCombs (sister); Christina Henderson (sister)

Stella May Henderson (25 October 1871 – 1 March 1962) was a New Zealand feminist, university graduate and journalist. She was the first woman parliamentary reporter for a major New Zealand newspaper.

Henderson was born in Kaiapoi, North Canterbury, New Zealand on 25 October 1871. She was the seventh of nine children of Alice and Daniel Henderson. The family spent some years living in Ashburton, but when Henderson was 11 the family moved to Christchurch.

She attended Christchurch Girls' High School while Helen Connon was principal, and won a Junior Scholarship to Canterbury College in 1888. She completed both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree, graduating with first class honours in English and Latin in 1893.

Henderson was initially interested in a career in law, although women were not permitted to practise law at the time. With the help of William Izard, who employed her, she began working in a law firm while attending classes at Canterbury College. Izard subsequently approached the local Member of Parliament, G.W. Russell, to introduce a private member's bill to Parliament to enable women to qualify as barristers and solicitors. The legislation, the Female Law Practitioners Act, was passed in 1896 and Henderson passed her final L.L.B exams in 1898.

Throughout this period, Henderson was developing her political views. She and her sisters Elizabeth and Christina joined a socialist group, as well as the National Council of Women, and signed the petition for women's suffrage that won New Zealand women the vote in 1893. All three sisters were also strong supporters of the Prohibition movement, as their father Daniel had died when the family was still young due to alcoholism.