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Story: Labour Party

First woman member of Parliament

Image
First woman member of Parliament

This is pioneering politician Elizabeth McCombs around 1933, the year she replaced her late husband as MP for Lyttelton, becoming New Zealand's first woman MP. McCombs was a lifelong socialist and campaigner for women's rights.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Advisory Committee of Women's Affairs Collection

Reference: 1/2-150372-F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Peter Aimer, Labour Party – Māori and women in the Labour Party, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/34053/first-woman-member-of-parliament (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Aimer, published 31 October 2011, updated 1 January 2023.