Mary Harris

Mary Winifred Harris is a former New Zealand cricketer and public servant who served as Clerk of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015. She played 33 first-class cricket matches for Wellington between 1977 and 1986, and 12 One Day Internationals for the International XI women's cricket team at the 1982 Women's Cricket World Cup.

Early life and family Harris was born in New Plymouth. The family moved to Wellington when Harris's father, a school teacher, took a job at the Correspondence School. She was educated at Wellington Girls' College, and went on to study at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and geography.

On 22 June 1987, Harris joined the Parliamentary Service (which from 1985 to 1988 had oversight of the Office of the Clerk of the House) as a senior committee secretary, and in 1990 was promoted to the senior management role of clerk-assistant, initially with responsibility for providing services to select committees and, from July 2000, managing reporting services (including Hansard, broadcasting and Māori language interpretation). She was appointed to the office of deputy clerk on 11 February 2002. Harris was appointed Clerk of the House on 10 December 2007, following the resignation of David McGee, becoming the first woman and first non-lawyer in the role. She served as Clerk of the House for seven years and seven months before retiring on 5 July 2015.

Cricket A right-handed batter and occasional wicket-keeper, Harris played first-class cricket for Wellington from the 1977/78 season until 1985/86. She played 33 matches for Wellington, scoring 988 runs at an average of 20.16, with a highest score of 64 not out. During her first-class career, she took 15 catches. She captained Wellington in a number of matches.