Curtis and Parker had previously represented the Motueka and Massacre Bay electorate.
The Motueka electorate was held for 14 years by Richard Hudson of the Reform Party from the 1914 election.
[5][6] The Reform Party looked for potential candidates to win back the electorate, and a young farmer who was not even a member, Keith Holyoake, was suggested.
[10] In October 1932, Black committed suicide,[11][12] and this caused the 1932 Motueka by-election, which was won by future prime minister Holyoake.
[6] Holyoake was defeated in 1938 by Jerry Skinner,[13] who was a likely Labour leader if he had not died prematurely.