1932: Black Out

October 17, 2021

By AHNZ

Today in New Zealand history, 17 October, 1932, the young Member of Parliament for Motueka killed himself.

George Black suicided by a massive dose of cyanide having taken a taxi to Makara Beach, Wellington. Black was elected a Liberal but soon proved not to be an obedient party servant. The Government had scams exploiting the crisis of the Murchison earthquake the same way we do these days when there is a real or invented crisis but Black parted ways over it. He also sided with his electorate on the fate of their white elephant railway line against his team. Most crucially, Black defected to Labour and voted against his own party on cuts to the ‘public service’ during the first days of the Great Slump.

A year and a half after being expelled from his party, despite being re-elected as an Independent, and having become a father, Black ended it all. There must have been great pressure, and great hate, on the man in the House who now had no political home at a time of growing economic crisis. This is not mentioned in his history but the coroner does say Black had been “mentally unstable” and in “financial difficulties” during the lead-up period to his death.

“Davy brought in a brigade of Cabinet Ministers after John A Lee had left…leader, Holland, and other..undid the good that Lee had done.”- The Holyoake Years, Doughty (1977)

Over the following 6 weeks Labour and Reform contested hard for the vacant seat of Motueka. Labour showed off how wealthy and powerful they were, which was way off-brand for the party of the workers, so helped hand victory to Reform. The seat was won by a new MP named Keith Holyoake.

—
Image ref. NZ Truth (1930); Papers Past

Like    Comment     Share