Kate Edger’s family migrated to Northland from England when she was five and she was educated at home, proving both intelligent and industrious. With the support of her graduate father, she applied for permission to sit for a University Scholarship, giving her age and qualifications, but not her sex. Acceptance of her application in effect allowed her to proceed to study towards a degree. She graduated in 1877 with a BA in Latin and Mathematics, the first woman in the British Empire to earn a BA. She taught at Christchurch Girls’ High School, gaining her MA during this time, and at the age of twenty-six was appointed foundation headmistress of Nelson College for Girls, where she established the school on firm and enduring principles.

After marrying a Congregationalist minister, W.A. Evans, Kate Edger moved to Wellington where she was active in preaching, philanthropic work, and education. She continued to examine for University Entrance intermittently for many years and was a member of her local school committee. Kate Edger worked for women’s suffrage, presided over the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the League of Nations Union, and helped found the Society for the Protection of Women and Children. A quiet, reserved woman, widely loved and respected, she combined motherhood, a career, and participation in voluntary charitable work with remarkable success.