ST. ALBANS SEAT

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29262, 21 July 1960, Page 15

ST. ALBANS SEAT

Mr E. P. Wills For National

Mr E. P. Wills, who contested the seat at the 1957 General Election, will again be the National Party's candidate for the Si. Albans seat this year. His selection was made last evening when 11 candidates appeared before the selection committee. Mr Wills, a 54-y ear-old barrister and solicitor, is chairman of the Canterbury division of the party. . He is married with five children. He was bom in Christchurch I and educated at Nelson College. > where he was head prefect; and :at Auckland, Victoria and > Canterbury University Colleges. In a long association with the > administration of the Church of England, Mr Wills has been

registrar of the Diocese of Christchurch and served as a member of the Church Property Trustees. He has been a lecturer in law at Canterbury University for a number of years and was Dean of the Faculty of Law for seven years. Mr Wills has also taken a prominent part in the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. He stood for Parliament for the National Party in the Riccarton electorate in 1951. In 1957 he was within 501 votes of the successful Labour candidate, Mr N. G. Pickering, in St. Albans. The list of prospective candidates was the longest ever to be considered by the National Party for a local electorate, and it was midnight before the selection was completed. Some of those on the list for last evening may be nominated again today for selection for Riccarton, but there is not likely to be nearly the same interest in an electorate which would need a major landslide to shift the sitting Labour member.