24th New Zealand Parliament
The 24th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 23 February 1932, following the 1931 election. It was dissolved on 1 November 1935 in preparation for the 1935 election. The 24th Parliament was extended by one year because the 1935 election was held later than anticipated due to the ongoing depression, similarly the 1919, and the 1943 elections were held two years late, having been postponed during World War I and World War II respectively.
24th Parliament of New Zealand | |||||||||||
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Overview | |||||||||||
Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||||||||
Term | 23 February 1932 – 26 October 1935 | ||||||||||
Election | 1931 New Zealand general election | ||||||||||
Government | United–Reform coalition Government | ||||||||||
House of Representatives | |||||||||||
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Members | 80 | ||||||||||
Speaker of the House | Charles Statham | ||||||||||
Prime Minister | George Forbes | ||||||||||
Leader of the Opposition | Michael Joseph Savage from 12 October 1933 ––Harry Holland until 8 October 1933 | ||||||||||
Legislative Council | |||||||||||
Members | 35 (at start) 28 (at end) | ||||||||||
Speaker of the Council | Sir Walter Carncross | ||||||||||
Leader of the Council | Robert Masters | ||||||||||
Sovereign | |||||||||||
Monarch | HM George V | ||||||||||
Governor-General | HE Rt. Hon. The Viscount Galway from 12 April 1935 ––HE Rt. Hon. THe Lord Bledisloe until 15 March 1935 | ||||||||||
Sessions | |||||||||||
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The Prime Minister during the 24th Parliament was George Forbes, leader of the United Party. Many commentators at the time, however, alleged that Gordon Coates, leader of the larger Reform Party, had the greater influence.
The 24th Parliament consisted of eighty representatives, each elected from separate geographical electorates.
Ministries
The 24th Parliament was led by a coalition of the Reform Party and the United Party;[1] Reform had twenty-eight seats, United had nineteen, and there were four pro-coalition independents. The primary opposition was from the Labour Party, which had twenty-four seats. The small Country Party had one seat, and there were four non-aligned independents. The distribution of seats between three large parties (also a feature of the previous parliament) was relatively unusual, as New Zealand tended towards a two-party system at the time.
The coalition government had been formed on 22 September 1931 during the term of the previous Parliament. During the difficult times of the Great Depression, Forbes had wanted to form a grand coalition with the Labour Party and the Reform Party. Labour refused, but Reform went into a coalition government with United from September 1931.[2][3]
Party standings
Start of Parliament
Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start | |
Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 28 | |
Labour Party | Harry Holland | 24 | |
United Party | George Forbes | 19 | |
Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 1 | |
Independents | 8 |
End of Parliament
Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end | |
Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 29 | |
Labour Party | Michael Joseph Savage | 24 | |
United Party | George Forbes | 16 | |
Democrat Party | Thomas Hislop (outside parliament) | 2 | |
Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 1 | |
Ratana | Eruera Tirikatene | 1 | |
Independents | 7 |
Electoral boundaries
Members
Initial MPs
Key
Reform Labour United Country Party Independent Liberal Ratana Independent
Table footnotes:
- For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
- For some biographical details of McLachlan refer to his grandfather's article
- McMillan claimed to stand for the Reform Party, but he was not the official candidate, as the United–Reform Coalition endorsed William Polson, who ran as an Independent[26]
- Bill Sullivan was a member of the United Party, but Charles MacMillan was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition, hence Sullivan stood as an Independent
- The Reform and United parties could not agree on an official coalition candidate for the Timaru electorate, so neither Armstrong (Reform) nor Herbert Hall (United) were official candidates, and many sources show them as Independents
- Ziman was the father of John Ziman[29]
- Jull was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition
- Ormond was the son of John Davies Ormond and the father of John Ormond
- Four of the eight independent MPs (Connolly, Hargest, McSkimming, and Polson) were aligned with the United–Reform Coalition, and are not classified as independents by some sources.
By-elections during 24th Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 24th Parliament.
Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
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Southern Maori | 1932 | 3 August[35] | Tuiti Makitanara | Death | Eruera Tirikatene | ||
Motueka | 1932 | 1 December[36] | George Black | Death | Keith Holyoake | ||
Lyttelton | 1933 | 13 September[37] | James McCombs | Death | Elizabeth McCombs | ||
Buller | 1933 | 22 November[38] | Harry Holland | Death | Paddy Webb | ||
Lyttelton | 1935 | 24 July[37] | Elizabeth McCombs | Death | Terry McCombs |
Summary of changes
- Tuiti Makitanara, the United MP for Southern Maori, died on 26 June 1932. The resulting 1932 by-election was won by Eruera Tirikatene, an independent candidate associated with the Rātana religious movement.
- George Black, the independent MP for Motueka, died on 7 October 1932. The resulting 1932 by-election was won by Keith Holyoake of the Reform Party.
- James McCombs, the Labour MP for Lyttelton, died on 2 August 1933. The resulting 1933 by-election Labour victory by his wife, Elizabeth McCombs, made her the first woman to win election to the New Zealand Parliament.
- Harry Holland, leader of the Labour Party and MP for Buller, died on 8 October 1933. The resulting 1933 by-election was won by Paddy Webb, also of the Labour Party.
- Elizabeth McCombs died on 7 June 1935, twenty-two months after her husband's death, and the resulting 1935 by-election returned her son, Terry McCombs.
Notes
- Scholefield 1950, pp. 48–49.
- Gardner, W. J. "Forbes, George William - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 48.
- McRobie 1989, pp. 87f.
- Skinner 1932, pp. 1–10.
- "Election Counts". Auckland Star. LXII (291). 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- "Recount of Votes". Auckland Star. LXII (289). 7 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. LXII (275). 20 November 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- "Page 4 Advertisements Column 4". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. LV (5636). 1 December 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- "Buller Electorate". The Evening Post. CXII (127). 25 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- "Election Results". Auckland Star. LXII (290). 8 December 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- "Straight Grained". New Zealand Truth (1197). 8 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- "John McCrae". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- "Dunedin North". Auckland Star. LXII (264). 7 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. LXVIII (21053). 11 December 1931. p. 22. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- "Electors' Choice". Auckland Star. LXII (286). 3 December 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- "A Coalition Certainty". The Evening Post. CXII (120). 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- "In Canterbury". Auckland Star. LXII (281). 27 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- Gustafson, Barry. "Archer, John Kendrick". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- "Notice of Nominations received and Polling Places appointed". Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette. 25 November 1931. p. 7. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. LV (5634). 24 November 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- "Mr McDougall Opposed". The Evening Post. CXII (120). 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- "Public Notices". Ellesmere Guardian. LII (99). 11 December 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- "Opposing Mr Atmore". The Evening Post. CXII (110). 5 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. LXVIII (21051). 9 December 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- "Stratford Electorate". The New Zealand Herald. LXVIII (21029). 13 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- "Reform Triumph". The Northern Advocate. 18 June 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- Kerr, Stephen (2003). "Good Old Clyde": Clyde Carr M.P., Timaru and the Art of Incumbency, 1928–1962 (PDF) (Thesis). University of Canterbury. p. 66. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- "Ziman, John Michael" (PDF). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- Facer, Wayne Arthur Pickard (2012). "In New Zealand: Timaru 1923–1925". William Jellie: Unitarian, Scholar and Educator (PDF) (M.Phil.). Massey University. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. LXII (275). 20 November 1931. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wallace". Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle. XXVII (1349). 15 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington Suburbs". The Evening Post. CXII (140). 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- "Coalition Selection". The Evening Post. CXII (117). 13 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 114.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 121.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 146.
References
- McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Skinner, W. A. G. (1932). The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. Retrieved 2 November 2014.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)