However, the Labour Party were confident of retaining the electorate as they pledged reforms that would help those affected by the Great Depression.

He had already been the Reform party candidate in the 1931 general election, losing by just 32 votes against James McCombs.

He was a commissioner of the Waimakariri River Trust and an elected member of the Heathcote County Council.

He had held leading positions with the Canterbury Automobile Association, the South Island Motor Union, and had been a director for an insurance company.

She chose to address this issue head on by using "Vote the first woman to the New Zealand Parliament" as her campaign slogan.

[4] The leader of the Labour Party, Harry Holland, attended some of the campaign meetings in support of McCombs.

William Bodkin and Walter Broadfoot, United Party Members of Parliament representing the Otago Central and Waitomo electorates, respectively, were both present and campaigning on Hills' behalf.

A later meeting in the Labour stronghold of Woolston was much better frequented, with 200 attendees busy interjecting him during his speech.

He was also asked whether he received money from somebody for standing in the election, insinuating that the conservative candidate might possibly have an interest in the vote of the working class being split.

[8] The election campaign was also seen as important because of the Great Depression that New Zealand was experiencing and was viewed to be a referendum on the government's response.

"It will be my endeavour to live up to the tradition the women of New Zealand have established for taking their full share of the burden of government."

I see it as one of many steps in the political progress of women in our country which made it possible for me to become leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister."