The Mid-Canterbury by-election, 1942 was a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 held on 27 January 1942 during the 26th New Zealand Parliament in the seat of Mid-Canterbury

Mid-Canterbury

Mid-Canterbury is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, in Canterbury.-History:The electorate existed from 1928 to 1946.Arthur Grigg, the MP elected in 1938, enlisted in the NZEF as a Major in World War II, and was killed in action in Libya in 1941. He was succeeded by his widow Mary Grigg...

. They by-election came about because of the death of Arthur Grigg

Arthur Grigg

Arthur Nattle Grigg was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was educated at Christ's College and was a farmer.He represented the electorate of Mid-Canterbury in Parliament from 1938, when he defeated Horace Herring, to 1941...

, his wife Mary Grigg

Mary Grigg

Mary Victoria Cracroft Grigg, Lady Polson, MBE was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.She represented the Mid-Canterbury electorate in Parliament from 1942 after the death of her husband Arthur Nattle Grigg who she had married in 1920, and who had held the seat from 1938...

 was elected unopposed.

Arthur Grigg had held the seat since 1938 for the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

. He was killed while serving during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force

New Zealand Expeditionary Force

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I and World War II. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force...

 (NZEF) in Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

. His wife was selected as the candidate for the national party while Labour decided not to stand a candidate because of the war. Therefore, Grigg was elected unopposed.

Grigg became the first female National Party MP and the fourth overall. She had little impact on parliament, retiring at the 1943 general election

New Zealand general election, 1943

The 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 27th term. With the onset of World War II, elections were initially postponed, but it was eventually decided to hold a general election in September 1943, around two years after it...

 after marrying William Polson

William Polson

Sir William John Polson, KCMG was a New Zealand politician, first as an Independent and then in the National Party. He joined the National Party on its formation in 1936, and "later acted effectively as Holland's deputy" ....

, National MP for Stratford

Stratford (New Zealand electorate)

Stratford is a former Parliamentary electorate, in Taranaki, New Zealand.-Population centres:The electorate was mixed urban and rural, around the town of Stratford.-History:The electorate existed from 1908 to 1946, and from 1954 to 1978....

. Despite this her election is seen as a milestone in women's suffrage in New Zealand

Women's suffrage in New Zealand

Women's suffrage in New Zealand was an important political issue in the late 19th century. Of countries presently independent, New Zealand was the first to give women the vote in modern times....

.