Elizabeth McCombs

Elizabeth McCombs (19 November 1873 - 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, and the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament.

Birth/Youth

Elizabeth Reid Henderson was born in Kaiapoi, although most of her youth was spent in Ashburton and Christchurch. In 1886, her father died, leaving her family in financial difficulties for a time.

Politics

McCombs became interested in socialism through the influence of her elder sisters, who were involved in the Progressive Liberal Association, a small socialist-orientated group. One of the Progressive Liberal Association's goals was to increase the political rights of women. McCombs herself became involved in the Association, and as an extension of this, with the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union, run by prominent New Zealand suffragette Kate Sheppard. McCombs held a number of positions within the Temperance Union throughout her life, including that of national treasurer.

In 1903, McCombs married James McCombs, a strong socialist who had also been involved with the Progressive Liberal Association. They were to have two children, and adopted two more. James McCombs was active in left-wing political circles, and was later to become an MP for the Social Democratic Party. When the Labour Party was founded in 1916, he became its first president. At the same time, Elizabeth McCombs was elected to the party's executive.

In 1921, McCombs gained election to the Christchurch City Council, being the second woman to do so. She remained a member of the council until 1935, when she chose to step down. During this time, she was also active in a large number of other organizations, including hospital boards and charities. Her work was recognised in 1926, when she was made a Justice of the Peace.

In the 1928 elections, McCombs stood (unsuccessfully) for the Kaiapoi electorate, as the Labour Party's first female nominee. In the 1931 elections, she contested the seat of Christchurch North, also unsuccessfully.

In 1933, McCombs' husband, James, died. Shortly afterwards, it was suggested that McCombs herself should be the Labour Party's new candidate for his parliamentary seat, Lyttelton. Some members of the party were initially hesitant, but eventually, she was selected as the Labour candidate. When the by-election was held, McCombs won resoundingly, becoming the first woman in parliament.

Issues

In parliament, McCombs spoke out on a number of issues, many of which involved women's rights and welfare. Among the causes she promoted were:

* Equal pay for women.
* Changes to unemployment policy, which was more generous towards unemployed men than unemployed women.
* Recruitment of women into the police force.

Illness/Death

McCombs found it increasingly difficult to fully participate in politics, however, due to growing ill health. In Christchurch, on 7 June 1935, she died aged 61, less than two years after entering parliament.

Despite her short career in parliament, she demonstrated that women could successfully seek election, and it was not long before a second woman (Catherine Stewart in 1938) entered parliament. In her Lyttelton electorate, she was succeeded by her son Terence McCombs, who from 1947 to 1949 was the Minister of Education in the First Labour Government, which was near the end of its life.

Quotes

*Elizabeth McCombs, well-educated and well-to-do, could be impatient with working people, tending to represent their best interests and not necessarily their opinions. She called a deputation representing the unemployed "an illogical crowd" when they said they wanted work but criticized having to work for charitable aid (Christchurch Press, 28 October 1926).

References

"New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984" by J. O. Wilson (1985, Government Printer, Wellington)
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MccombsElizabethReid/MccombsElizabethReid/en Biography in 1966 "Encyclopaedia of New Zealand"] See also an obituary in the Christchurch "Press" of 8 June 1935 by James Oakley Wilson, D.S.C., M.COM., A.L.A., Chief Librarian, General Assembly Library, Wellington