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 John Wilson, a sheepfarmer, and Mildred Hall. Her paternal grandfather was John Cracroft Wilson, and her maternal grandfather was

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

; both had been prominent MPs. Her mother was known for her involvement with public activities, particularly those involving women. Grigg was educated for eight years at the

Brondesbury Brondesbury (), which includes Brondesbury Park, is an area in the London Borough of Brent, in London, England. The area is traditionally part of the Ancient Parish and subsequent Municipal Borough of Willesden, one of the areas that merged to fo ...

School in London, where she became a head girl. During the First World War she served in the nursing division of the VAD (Voluntary Aid Division).

Political career

In 1941 Grigg was elected onto the Ashburton Hospital Board and became its first woman member. She was also president of the Ashburton

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is "t ...

, a member of the Red Cross executive and President of the

Mount Somers Mount Somers ( mi, Te Kiekie) is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The population in the 2001 census was 2,307. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes ...

Ladies' Guild. When her husband Arthur Grigg rejoined the army, she took over his parliamentary duties in the electorate. She was elected to represent the

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 ...

electorate in Parliament from

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

after the death (on 29 November 1941) of her husband Arthur Grigg in a political practice known as

widow's succession Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was directly succeeded by their widow, either through election or direct appointment to the se ...

. She had married Grigg in 1920, and he had held the

electorate from

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

Her greatest area of concern was farming issues, followed by housing, health and education. In 1942 she joined with other women MPs from both sides of the House to argue that the number of women police officers should be increased and that they should be issued with a uniform. She also campaigned for women to be permitted to sit on juries. She married

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 ...

MP on 29 June 1943 and did not seek re-election in the September 1943 general election. Grigg continued to be active in the National Party after her parliamentary career ended. She supported Hilda Ross in her first election campaign in 1945, and in 1949 Ross and Grigg co-wrote the National Party's election manifesto. She 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 ...

in the 1946 New Year Honours. She was styled Lady Polson when her second husband was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1951 Birthday Honours. She was the fourth woman to be elected to Parliament after

Elizabeth McCombs Elizabeth Reid McCombs (née Henderson, 19 November 1873 – 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who in 1933 became the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand women gained the right to vote in ...

Catherine Stewart Catherine Campbell Stewart (née Sword, 15 August 1881 – 2 April 1957) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Early life Born in Glasgow, she migrated with her family to New Zealand in 1921. She was an ardent suffragette, and a ...

and

Mary Dreaver Mary Manson Dreaver (née Bain, 31 March 1887 – 19 July 1961) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life She was born in Dunedin, the oldest of 13 children of Alexander Manson Bain and Hanna Kiely. She married A ...

, and the first woman not from the Labour Party to be elected. Lady Polson was the President of Victoria League Canterbury from 1965 to 1970.

References

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External links

Women's suffrage milestonesVictoria League Canterbury
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigg, Mary 1897 births 1971 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians