Helen McKenzie Black (née Murray; 16 August 1896 – 17 October 1963) was a New Zealand mayoress and community worker. She was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland, on 16 August 1896. On 3 December 1924, she married Robert Black, who was

mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

from 1929 to 1933. Her husband stood in the in the electorate as an independent candidate in support of the United Party, but withdrew shortly before the election, too late for his name to be removed from the ballot. She stood in Dunedin North in the for the Democrat Party and came a distant third; she was one of only three women who stood for election that year. Black stood again in for the National Party. In the

1952 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Austra ...

, Black was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for social welfare services.

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Photos of the three female candidates
in the 1896 births 1963 deaths Scottish social workers New Zealand social workers British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Democrat Party (1934) politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election New Zealand National Party politicians {{NewZealand-bio-stub