The 1942 Mid-Canterbury by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 27 January 1942 during the

26th New Zealand Parliament The 26th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1938 general election in October of that year. 1938 general election The 1938 general election was held on Friday, 14 October in the Māori electo ...

in the seat of

Mid-Canterbury Mid Canterbury (also spelt Mid-Canterbury and mid-Canterbury) is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of C ...

. The by-election resulted from the death of Arthur Grigg; his wife

Mary Grigg Mary Victoria Cracroft Grigg, Lady Polson, (née Wilson; 18 August 1897 – 22 December 1971) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Early life She was born as Mary Victoria Cracroft Wilson at Culverden in 1897. Her parents were ...

was elected unopposed. Arthur Grigg had held the seat since 1938 for the National Party. He was killed on 29 November 1941 while serving during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(NZEF) in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. His wife was selected as the candidate for the National party, while Labour decided not to stand a candidate because of the war. Therefore, as no independent candidate stood (Mrs) Grigg was elected unopposed; from 21 January 1942 according to Wilson. Wood notes that in the extreme case of Mid-Canterbury, 1942 the (unopposed) by-election was gazetted without date of election, and four different dates are available from reputable sources: ''Official Year-book, Parliamentary Record, Journals of the House'' and J Boston. Grigg became the first female National Party MP and the fourth overall. She had little impact on parliament, retiring at the 1943 general election (30 August 1943) after marrying

William Polson Sir William John Polson (6 June 1875 – 8 October 1960) was a New Zealand politician, first as an Independent and then in the National Party. He joined the National Party on its formation in 1936, and "later acted effectively as Holland's d ...

, the National MP for Stratford. Despite this her election is seen as a milestone in

women's suffrage in New Zealand Women's suffrage in New Zealand was an important political issue in the late nineteenth century. In early colonial New Zealand, as in European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change i ...

Byelection date

In late November 1941 three MPs died (on 28, 29 and 30 November), two while on overseas military service. The date for the by-election(s) was a problem because of the post-Christmas break and because of the arrangements required for voting by servicemen overseas. Two by-elections were held on 7 February 1943 for

Hauraki Hauraki is a suburb located on the southern North Shore of Auckland, the largest metropolitan city in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. History The traditional name for the western coastline in Hauraki wa ...

and Temuka where two independent candidates stood, but in Mid-Canterbury the widow of the sitting member was unopposed. The date of the resultant by-elections had been discussed by Peter Fraser the Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Electoral Department, the clerk of writs J. W. Heenan, and the speaker Bill Barnard. They were all National seats, and the Labour Party did not contest these wartime elections, but as independent candidates stood in two electorates, two by-elections were required. The speaker could not call them until the death was registered (which took longer for overseas deaths), and the Government Printing Office was closed for the Christmas-New Year holiday from 25 December to 7 January, so gazette notices could not be issued in that period.. The notification of vacancies by the speaker was on 6 December 1941. A full period of 17 days was required between nomination day and polling day; ten days was too short because of the requirement to record soldier’s votes from overseas. Heenan said that an election on Saturday 27 December was not possible although Saturday 31 January was; but Saturday 7 February 1942 was selected, with the last day for nominations 21 January and writs to be returned on 23 February. Warrants were issued on 13 January.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mid-Canterbury by-election, 1942 Unopposed by-elections in New Zealand 1942 elections in New Zealand Politics of Canterbury, New Zealand