Mid-Canterbury (New Zealand electorate)

Mid-Canterbury was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in rural Canterbury. It existed from 1928 to 1946 and was represented by six Members of Parliament, including Mary Grigg, the first woman National Party MP.

Population centres

In the 1927 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained a further electorate from the South Island 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 1928 election.^[1]

History

The electorate existed from 1928 to 1946.^[2] David Jones was the first representative, winning the 1928 election by a wafer-thin majority of 55 votes (0.59%) against Jeremiah Connolly;^[3] he had previously held Kaiapoi and Ellesmere.^[4] Jones was defeated by Connolly in the 1931 election. Connolly died on 2 October 1935 and as this was only weeks prior to the 1935 election, the seat remained vacant and no by-election was called.^[5]

Horace Herring of the Labour Party won the 1935 election.^[6] At the next election in 1938, Herring was narrowly beaten by Arthur Grigg of the National Party.^[7] Grigg enlisted in the NZEF as a Major in World War II, and was killed in action in Libya on 29 November 1941.^[8] He was succeeded by his widow Mary Grigg at a 1942 by-election;^[8] she became the first woman National MP. But in June 1943 she remarried, to another National MP, William Polson, and resigned.

Mary Grigg was succeeded by Geoff Gerard at the 1943 general election. He served until the end of the term in 1946 when the electorate was abolished, and successfully stood in the Ashburton electorate instead.^[9]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Reform   Independent Liberal   Labour   National

Election	Winner
1928 election		David Jones
1931 election		Jeremiah Connolly
1935 election		Horace Herring
1938 election		Arthur Grigg
1942 by-election		Mary Grigg
1943 election		Geoff Gerard
(Electorate abolished in 1946; see Ashburton)

Election results

1943 election

1943 general election: Mid-Canterbury^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Geoff Gerard	5,552	50.75
	Labour	David Barnes	4,918	44.96
	Democratic Labour	Harry Bates	376	3.43
Informal votes			92	0.84	+0.54
Majority			634	5.79
Turnout			10,938	93.18	−1.95
Registered electors			11,738

1942 by-election

1942 Mid-Canterbury by-election: Mid-Canterbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Mary Grigg	unopposed

1938 election

1938 general election: Mid-Canterbury^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Arthur Grigg	5,504	50.18
	Labour	Horace Herring	5,430	49.50	+6.33
Informal votes			34	0.30	−0.18
Majority			74	0.67
Turnout			10,968	95.13	+1.30
Registered electors			11,529

1935 election

1935 general election: Mid-Canterbury^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Horace Herring	4,422	43.17
	Reform	James Carr	3,960	38.66
	Democrat	William Woods	1,861	18.16
Informal votes			50	0.48	−0.23
Majority			462	4.51
Turnout			10,243	93.83	+4.71
Registered electors			10,916

1931 election

1931 general election: Mid-Canterbury^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	Jeremiah Connolly	4,437	47.68	+3.51
	Reform	David Jones	4,137	44.17	+2.63
	Independent Labour	Hiram Hunter	310	3.33
	Independent	Robert Wallace Wightman	258	2.77	+0.19
Informal votes			67	0.71	+0.16
Majority			136	1.46	+0.87
Turnout			9,373	89.12	−3.48
Registered electors			10,517[15]

1928 election

1928 general election: Mid-Canterbury^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	David Jones	4,137	44.17
	United	Jeremiah Connolly	4,082	43.58
	Labour	Morgan Williams	905	9.66
	Independent	Robert Wallace Wightman	242	2.58
Informal votes			52	0.55
Majority			55	0.59
Turnout			9,418	92.61
Registered electors			10,170[15]