LYTTELTON SEAT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22141, 21 June 1935, Page 13

LYTTELTON SEAT

THE LABOUR CANDIDATE MR. T. H. McCOMBS CHOSEN CAMPAIGN OPENING ON JULY 2 [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday Following the announcement in tonight's Gazetto of the vacancy in the representation of the Lyttolton electorate in Parliament, caused by the death of Mrs. E. R. McCombs, the National Executive of the Labour Party announced that acting on the recommendation of its affiliations and supporters in the electorate it had unanimously decided to nominate Mr. T. H. McCombs as the candidate to contest the by-election on behalf of the party. The party's organiser, Mr. F. Langstone, M.P., said he believed that the supporters of the Labour Party in the Lyttolton electorate would be only too anxious to see the seat retained in the McCombs family, which had held it since 1913.

Mr. James Thorn, national secretary of the Labour Party, whose name has been mentioned in connection with the election, says that he has already been nominated for the Thames se.it, and that Mr. McCombs, who was unanimously selected by members of the national executive of the party, has distinctive qualifications that would be very helpful to the Dominion if he were elected to Parliament. It is anticipated that the election will be held either on Wednesday, July 24, or on the following Wednesday, July 31. The leaders of the Labour Party will take a prominent part in the campaign, which will be opened on July 2. Mr. T. H. McCombs is the son of tho late Mr. James McCombs, who was member for Lyttelton for IS years, and of tho late Mrs. E. It. McCombs, who was member for two years. He has had a brilliant scholastic career. Ho was born in Christchurch in 1904 and was educated at the Christchurch Boys' High School, the Waitaki Boys' High School, and Canterbury College. He won tho Charles Cook memorial research scholarship in 1928, graduated master of science with honours in chemistry in 1929, and won a national research scholarship in 1929-30.

Mr. McCombs has held a number of teaching appointments and for a fairly lengthy period he has been making experiments in wheat culture. Ho has also taken a prominent pjirt in sport, gaining University Blues in hockey and rowing. For some time he has been a member of tho staff of the Seddou Memorial Technical College in Auckland.