but with Davey's withdrawal contested as behalf of the Liberal Party), George Duncan Macfarlane (an auctioneer with no prior political experience who stood for the Reform Party), and Hiram Hunter (who this time contested for the Social Democratic Party, which was the successor to the original Labour Party). Thacker was successful and succeeded Davey. The was contested by Thacker (the incumbent, and since May of that year Mayor of Christchurch) and Hiram Hunter (who this time contested for the Labour Party, which had been founded in 1916). Thacker served for two terms until 1922 and was Mayor of Christchurch until 1923. Thacker was defeated in the by Tim Armstrong of the Labour Party. The third candidate was W R Devereux, a land agent who stood for the Reform Party. Armstrong successfully contested the and s against Denis Franklyn Dennehy; his challenger stood for the Liberal Party in 1925, and for its successor, the United Party, in 1928. Armstrong was challenged by George Frederick Allen of the United Party in , but Armstrong remained successful. Allen was active in local affairs and was the headmaster of the Sumner District High School (1908–1933). Armstrong was challenged in by S W Richardson, who was the official candidate for the United–Reform Coalition in 1935. In , Armstrong was challenged by K I Armour of the National Party. Armstrong died in office on 8 November 1942 from heart disease. Armstrong's death triggered the , which was held on 6 February. The by-election was contested by five candidates, including representatives from the Labour Party, the Labour breakaway party Democratic Labour Party and the National Party. The election was won by the Labour candidate, Mabel Howard, and started her long parliamentary career, which included her becoming the first female cabinet minister in 1947. Howard was confirmed later in 1943 in the general election, where her majority increased substantially (by over 17 percentage points). Christchurch East was abolished in 1946 and re-created in for the MMP-era. Larry Sutherland, who had previously represented , won the 1996 election. Sutherland retired at the and Lianne Dalziel was first elected. Dalziel had previously represented Christchurch Central (–1996) and spent the next three years as a list MP. The Christchurch newspaper The Press reported on 20 April 2013 that Lianne Dalziel will challenge Bob Parker for the Christchurch mayoralty. Dalziel maintained that she was not yet committed to standing, and only formally