24th New Zealand Parliament

24th Parliament of New Zealand
24th Parliament of New Zealand
	Parliament House, Wellington
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
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
1st
1st	23 February 1932 – 28 October 1932
2nd	1 November 1932 – 10 March 1933
3rd	21 September 1933 – 22 December 1933
4th	28 June 1934 – 5 April 1935
5th	29 August 1935 – 26 October 1935

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.

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

The following table shows the detailed results:

Key

Reform Labour United Country Party Independent Liberal Ratana Independent

Electorate results for the 1931 New Zealand general election^[4]^[5]
Electorate			Majority
General electorates
Auckland Central	Bill Parry		3,793^[6]	Harold Penfound Congdon
Auckland East	James Donald	Bill Schramm	2,256^[7]	Harold Percy Burton
Auckland Suburbs	Rex Mason		1,223	Richard Herbert Marryatt^[8]
Auckland West	Michael Joseph Savage		4,517	Hugh Ross Mackenzie^[8]
Avon	Dan Sullivan		3,039	Harben Robert Young
Awarua	Philip De La Perrelle		2,148	Norman McIntyre^[9]
Bay of Islands	Harold Rushworth		1,209	Allen Bell
Bay of Plenty	Kenneth Williams		Uncontested
Buller	Harry Holland		3,631	John Menzies^[10]
Central Otago	William Bodkin		2,516	Charles Todd
Chalmers	Alfred Ansell		172	Norman Hartley Campbell
Christchurch East	Tim Armstrong		3,206	George Frederick Allen
Christchurch North	Henry Holland		2,077	Elizabeth McCombs
Christchurch South	Ted Howard		2,798^[11]	Charlie McCully^[12]
Clutha	Fred Waite	Peter McSkimming	1,530	Fred Waite
Dunedin Central	Charles Statham		262	Peter Neilson
Dunedin North	Jim Munro		524	John McCrae^[13]^[14]
Dunedin South	William Taverner	Fred Jones	3,644	William Taverner
Dunedin West	William Downie Stewart Jr		924	John Gilchrist
Eden	Arthur Stallworthy		1,270^[11]	Bill Anderton
Egmont	Charles Wilkinson		1,308	F. Gawith
Franklin	Jack Massey		2,457	Harry Oswald Mellsop^[15]
Gisborne	Douglas Lysnar	David Coleman	317^[11]	Douglas Lysnar
Grey Lynn	John Fletcher	John A. Lee	3,242^[6]	John Fletcher
Hamilton	Alexander Young		3,072^[16]	Hubert Beebe
Hauraki	Walter William Massey		2,750^[6]	Charles Robert Petrie
Hawke's Bay	Hugh Campbell		2,259	Ted Cullen^[17]
Hurunui	George Forbes		3,953	R. J. Logan^[18]
Hutt	Walter Nash		2,823	James Kerr^{[nb 1]}
Invercargill	Vincent Ward	James Hargest	508	William McChesney
Kaiapoi	Richard Hawke		1,414	John Archer^[19]
Kaipara	Gordon Coates		2,084	Albert Edward Robinson^[20]
Lyttelton	James McCombs		32	Frederick Willie Freeman^[21]
Manawatu	Joseph Linklater		2,246	Lorrie Hunter
Manukau	Bill Jordan		3,394^[11]	Stanley Rickards^[8]
Marsden	Alfred Murdoch		2,942	Jim Barclay
Masterton	George Sykes		1,951	Peter Butler
Mataura	David McDougall		943	Thomas Golden^[22]
Mid-Canterbury	David Jones	Jeremiah Connolly	136^[23]	David Jones
Motueka	George Black		517	Keith Holyoake
Napier	Bill Barnard		1,456	John Butler
Nelson	Harry Atmore		100	Herbert Everett^[24]
New Plymouth	Sydney George Smith		3,472	William Sheat
Oamaru	John Andrew MacPherson		1,046^[11]	John Kirkness
Oroua	John Cobbe		Uncontested
Otaki	William Hughes Field		1,321	Jim Thorn
Pahiatua	Alfred Ransom		Uncontested
Palmerston	Jimmy Nash		1,245	Joe Hodgens
Parnell	Bill Endean		4,821^[6]	John William Yarnall
Patea	Harold Dickie		3,495	W. G. Simpson
Raglan	Lee Martin	Stewart Reid	806	Lee Martin
Rangitikei	James Thomas Hogan	Alexander Stuart	15	James Thomas Hogan
Riccarton	Bert Kyle		589	Archibald Albany McLachlan^{[nb 2]}
Roskill	George Munns	Arthur Shapton Richards	171^[6]	William John Holdsworth^[25]
Rotorua	Cecil Clinkard		57	Alexander Moncur
Stratford	William Polson		1,518	J W McMillan^{[nb 3]}
Tauranga	Charles Macmillan		658	Bill Sullivan^{[nb 4]}
Temuka	Thomas Burnett		1,237	Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames	Albert Samuel		464	John Sommerville Montgomerie^[27]
Timaru	Clyde Carr		820	Herbert N. Armstrong^[28]^{[nb 5]}
Waikato	Frederick Lye		981	Solomon Netheim Ziman^{[nb 6]}
Waimarino	Frank Langstone		591	William Henry Wackrow
Waipawa	Albert Jull^{[nb 7]}		386	John Davies Ormond, Jr.^{[nb 8]}
Wairarapa	Thomas McDonald	Alex McLeod	616	Thomas McDonald
Wairau	Edward Healy		1,424	William Girling
Waitaki	John Bitchener		885	Alexander McLean Paterson^[30]
Waitemata	Alexander Harris		2,378^[6]	Arthur Osborne^[31]
Waitomo	Walter Broadfoot		Uncontested
Wallace	Adam Hamilton		2,842	Peter Gilfedder^[32]
Wanganui	Bill Veitch		590	Bill Rogers
Wellington Central	Peter Fraser		2,471^[33]	Robert Darroch
Wellington East	Bob Semple		593^[33]	Thomas Forsyth
Wellington North	Charles Chapman		1,061^[33]	George Troup
Wellington South	Robert McKeen		2,659	Will Appleton^[34]
Wellington Suburbs	Robert Wright		2,570^[33]	Tom Brindle
Westland	James O'Brien		1,121	John Greenslade
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori	Āpirana Ngata		3,211	Pita Moko
Northern Maori	Taurekareka Henare		1,188	Paraire Karaka Paikea
Southern Maori	Tuiti Makitanara		19	Eruera Tirikatene
Western Maori	Taite Te Tomo		1,436	Toko Ratana

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		Cause
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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Election Counts". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 291. 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
^ "Recount of Votes". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 289. 7 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 275. 20 November 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 4". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. Vol. LV, no. 5636. 1 December 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
^ "Buller Electorate". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 127. 25 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Election Results". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 290. 8 December 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "Straight Grained". New Zealand Truth. No. 1197. 8 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
^ "John McCrae". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 9 July 2022 – via Online Cenotaph.
^ "Dunedin North". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 264. 7 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
^ "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21053. 11 December 1931. p. 22. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
^ "Electors' Choice". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 286. 3 December 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "A Coalition Certainty". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
^ "In Canterbury". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 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. Vol. LV, no. 5634. 24 November 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
^ "Mr McDougall Opposed". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^ "Public Notices". Ellesmere Guardian. Vol. LII, no. 99. 11 December 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
^ "Opposing Mr Atmore". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 110. 5 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
^ "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21051. 9 December 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
^ "Stratford Electorate". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 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. Vol. LXII, no. 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. Vol. XXVII, no. 1349. 15 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington Suburbs". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 140. 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
^ "Coalition Selection". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 117. 13 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^ Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
^ Scholefield 1950, p. 114.
^ ^a ^b 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.
Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
Skinner, W. A. G. (1932). The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. Retrieved 2 November 2014.

[19] For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article

[26] For some biographical details of McLachlan refer to his grandfather's article

[29] 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]

[30] 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

[33] 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

[35] Ziman was the father of John Ziman^[29]

[36] Jull was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition

[37] Ormond was the son of John Davies Ormond and the father of John Ormond

[FOOTNOTEScholefield195048–49-1] Scholefield 1950, pp. 48–49.

[DNZB_Forbes-2] Gardner, W. J. "Forbes, George William - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 December 2011.

[FOOTNOTEScholefield195048-3] Scholefield 1950, p. 48.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198987f-4] McRobie 1989, pp. 87f.

[FOOTNOTESkinner19321–10-5] Skinner 1932, pp. 1–10.

[AS_9_Dec-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Election Counts". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 291. 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 October 2014.

[7] "Recount of Votes". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 289. 7 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 31 October 2014.

[AS_20_Nov-8] "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 275. 20 November 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

[9] "Page 4 Advertisements Column 4". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. Vol. LV, no. 5636. 1 December 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 8 November 2014.

[10] "Buller Electorate". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 127. 25 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2014.

[AS_8_Dec-11] "Election Results". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 290. 8 December 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[12] "Straight Grained". New Zealand Truth. No. 1197. 8 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014.

[13] "John McCrae". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 9 July 2022 – via Online Cenotaph.

[14] "Dunedin North". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 264. 7 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2014.

[15] "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21053. 11 December 1931. p. 22. Retrieved 15 November 2014.

[AS_3_Dec-16] "Electors' Choice". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 286. 3 December 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[17] "A Coalition Certainty". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2014.

[18] "In Canterbury". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 281. 27 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

[20] Gustafson, Barry. "Archer, John Kendrick". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 April 2011.

[21] "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.

[22] "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. Vol. LV, no. 5634. 24 November 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

[23] "Mr McDougall Opposed". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014.

[24] "Public Notices". Ellesmere Guardian. Vol. LII, no. 99. 11 December 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 24 November 2013.

[25] "Opposing Mr Atmore". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 110. 5 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2014.

[27] "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21051. 9 December 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2014.

[28] "Stratford Electorate". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21029. 13 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

[31] "Reform Triumph". The Northern Advocate. 18 June 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2014.

[32] 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.

[34] "Ziman, John Michael" (PDF). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2014.

[38] 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.

[39] "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. Vol. LXII, no. 275. 20 November 1931. Retrieved 29 October 2014.

[40] "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wallace". Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle. Vol. XXVII, no. 1349. 15 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2015.

[some_Wlgt_results-41] "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington Suburbs". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 140. 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.

[42] "Coalition Selection". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 117. 13 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 17 March 2015.

[FOOTNOTEScholefield1950144-43] Scholefield 1950, p. 144.

[FOOTNOTEScholefield1950114-44] Scholefield 1950, p. 114.

[FOOTNOTEScholefield1950121-45] Scholefield 1950, p. 121.

[FOOTNOTEScholefield1950146-46] Scholefield 1950, p. 146.

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