PC Webb and Sidney George Holland/Alexander Turnbull Library
Elizabeth McCombs was the first woman to be an elected member of New Zealand s parliament in 1933.
When strong-minded Elizabeth McCombs was elected to her late husband’s post as Lyttleton MP in 1933, she made history. But almost 90 years later, the strides she made for women in politics remain unsung among many, and the progress she sparked has been slow. Brittney Deguara writes. “Gap in ranks hard to fill,” were the words that adorned politician Elizabeth McCombs’ obituary in the
Manawatū Times in 1935. Less than two years’ prior, McCombs made headlines for her history-making appointment as the new MP for Lyttelton. A widow and mother-of-two had become Aotearoa’s first female MP.