Mid-Canterbury was a New Zealand parliamentary

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

in rural

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. It existed from 1928 to 1946 and was represented by six

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, including

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 ...

, the first woman National Party MP.

Population centres

In the 1927 electoral redistribution, the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

gained a further electorate from the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

due to fast population growth. Five electorates were abolished, two former electorates were re-established, and three electorates, including Mid-Canterbury, were created for the first time. These changes came into effect with the .

History

The electorate existed from 1928 to 1946. David Jones was the first representative, winning the by a wafer-thin majority of 55 votes (0.59%) against

Jeremiah Connolly Jeremiah Connolly (1875 – 2 October 1935) was an Independent Liberal Member of Parliament for Mid-Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. Early life Connolly was born in Geraldine in 1875 and educated at Hilton School. He was a farmer ...

; he had previously held and . Jones was defeated by Connolly in the . Connolly died on 2 October 1935 and as this was only weeks prior to the , the seat remained vacant and no by-election was called.

Horace Herring Horace Edgar Herring (1884–9 January 1962) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Mid-Canterbury. Born in England and a mechanical engineer and draughtsman, he came to New Zealand in 1909. Member of Parliament Horace Herring represent ...

of the Labour Party won the 1935 election. At the next election in , Herring was narrowly beaten by Arthur Grigg of the National Party. Grigg enlisted in the NZEF as a Major in

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 ...

, and was killed in action in Libya on 29 November 1941. He was succeeded by his widow

at a 1942 by-election; she became the first woman

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

MP. But in June 1943 she remarried, to another National MP,

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 ...

, and resigned. Mary Grigg was succeeded by

Geoff Gerard Geoff Gerard (born 10 July 1955) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia international and New South Wales rugby league team, New South W ...

at the 1943 general election. He served until the end of the term in when the electorate was abolished, and successfully stood in the electorate instead.

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1943 election

1942 by-election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

Notes

References

* * * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand Canterbury, New Zealand 1928 establishments in New Zealand 1946 disestablishments in New Zealand