Agnes Louisa Weston

Agnes Louisa Weston (née Steuart, 17 January 1879 – 8 August 1972) from Wellington was appointed a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council on 22 June 1950.[1]

Weston was the wife of Claude Weston,[2] who was effectively the first president of the National Party (1936–1940).[3] In the 1946 election, Claude Weston was a candidate for the National Party in the Wellington Central electorate. He died suddenly on 10 November 1946 in Wellington, and she replaced him as a candidate.[3] The election was won by Charles Henry Chapman of the Labour Party.[4]

She was one of three female members of the suicide squad, which was appointed by the First National Government in 1950 to vote for its abolition. The other women appointed in 1950 were Cora Louisa Burrell and Ethel Marion Gould. Only two other women, Mary Anderson and Mary Dreaver, had ever been appointed to the Council (in 1946).

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 166. OCLC 154283103.
  2. ↑ Smith, Philippa Mein (2005). A Concise History of New Zealand. Cambridge University Press. p. 177. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 389. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  4. ↑ "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. p. 11. Retrieved 1 January 2014.


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