1951 New Zealand general election

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| <- 1949 | 1 September 1951 (1951-09-01) | 1954 ->

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elected members ->

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All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout| 1,069,791 (89.1%)
|  | First party  | Second party

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|

|  |
Leader  | Sidney Holland | Walter Nash
Party  | National | Labour
Leader since  | 26 November 1940 | 17 January 1951
Leader's seat  | Fendalton | Hutt
Last election  | 46 seats, 51.9%  | 34 seats, 47.2%
Seats won  | 50 | 30
Seat change  |  4  |  4
Popular vote  | 577,630 | 490,143
Percentage  | 54.0% | 45.8%
Swing  |  2.1%  |  1.4%

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Results of the election.

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| Prime Minister before election

Sidney Holland
National

| Subsequent Prime Minister

Sidney Holland
National

|

The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. The First National Government was re-elected, with the National Party increasing its parliamentary majority over the opposition Labour Party. This was the last time until the 2020 election that a party was elected to majority government of New Zealand by receiving a majority of the vote.

## Background

[edit]

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections, in which it had ended four terms of government by the Labour Party.[1] The National government, with Sidney Holland as Prime Minister, had undertaken a number of economic and constitutional reforms, although it had not seriously modified the new social welfare system which Labour had introduced. Labour's leader, Peter Fraser, had died in December 1950 after a long period of poor health, and had been replaced in January 1951 by Walter Nash. Nash had been Minister of Finance for the duration of the first Labour government.[2]

The most significant issue in the 1951 elections was the growing industrial unrest of the time, particularly the ongoing dockworkers dispute. Holland condemned the strikers, calling the situation "industrial anarchy". The Labour Party, under Nash, attempted to take a moderate position in the dispute, but ended up displeasing both sides. Holland, seeking a mandate to respond strongly to the strike, called a snap election. Another issue was high inflation, which frustrated voters and without the distraction of the strike, might have threatened Holland's government at the scheduled election for 1952.[3]

### MPs retiring in 1951

[edit]

Two MPs retired at the election, one each from Labour and National.

Party | Name | Electorate

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|

| Labour | Bill Parry | Arch Hill
| National | Frederick Doidge | Tauranga

## The election

[edit]

The date for the main 1951 elections was 1 September, and for the first time, elections to the four Maori seats were held on the same day.[4] The 1951 elections were also the first under the new regulations which required elections to be held on a Saturday. 1,205,762 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.1%.[5] The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.[6]

## Results

[edit]

### Party standings

[edit]

The 1951 election saw the governing National Party re-elected with a twenty-seat margin, a substantial improvement on the twelve-seat margin it previously held. National won fifty seats compared with the Labour Party's thirty.[6] The popular vote was closer, however, with National winning 54% to Labour's 46%.[7] No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents.[8] No party then captured a majority of the vote until the 2020 election, when Labour won 50.01%.[7]

Election results
Party  | Candidates  | Total votes  | Percentage  | Seats won  | change
| National | 80  | 577,630  | 54.00  | 50  | +4
| Labour | 80  | 490,143  | 45.80  | 30  | −4
| Communist | 4  | 528  | 0.05  | 0  | ±0
| Others  | 7  | 1,490  | 0.14  | 0  | ±0
Total  | 171  | 1,069,791  |  | 80 |

### Votes summary

[edit]

| Popular Vote

|  |
National |

| 54.00%
Labour |

| 45.80%
Others |

| 0.20%

| Parliament seats

|  |
National |

| 62.50%
Labour |

| 37.50%

Key
Labour National

Electorate results for the 1951 New Zealand general election[9] Electorate  | Incumbent  | Winner  | Majority  | Runner up

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|
|
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General electorates
Arch Hill |  | Bill Parry |  | John Stewart | 3,965  |  | Paddy Hope
Ashburton |  | Geoff Gerard | 2,867  |  | William Erle Rose
Auckland Central |  | Bill Anderton | 2,168  |  | Peter Hillyer
Avon |  | John Mathison | 4,212  |  | Douglas Warren Russell
Awarua |  | George Herron | 3,755  |  | Neville Pickering
Bay of Plenty |  | Bill Sullivan | 4,047  |  | Godfrey Santon
Brooklyn |  | Arnold Nordmeyer | 1,826  |  | Charles William Clift
Buller |  | Jerry Skinner | 1,227  |  | Phil McDonald
Central Otago |  | William Bodkin | 3,620  |  | T A Rodgers
Christchurch Central |  | Robert Macfarlane | 4,103  |  | Alma Schumacher
Clutha |  | James Roy | 3,583  |  | J M Sanders
Dunedin Central |  | Phil Connolly | 373  |  | Walter MacDougall
Dunedin North |  | Robert Walls | 307  |  | Donald Cameron
Eden |  | Wilfred Fortune | 2,802  |  | John Ronald Burfitt
Egmont |  | Ernest Corbett | 4,896  |  | Brian Edgar Richmond
Fendalton |  | Sidney Holland | 4,366  |  | Philip John Alley
Franklin |  | Jack Massey | 5,358  |  | Arthur Faulkner
Gisborne |  | Reginald Keeling |  | Harry Dudfield | 338  |  | Reginald Keeling
Grey Lynn |  | Fred Hackett | 3,813  |  | Harold Barry
Hamilton |  | Hilda Ross | 2,252  |  | Ben Waters
Hastings |  | Sydney Jones | 1,138  |  | Henry Edward Beattie
Hauraki |  | Andy Sutherland | 4,468  |  | Brevat William Dynes
Hawke's Bay |  | Cyril Harker | 4,153  |  | A Lowe
Hobson |  | Sidney Smith | 5,337  |  | Norman King
Hurunui |  | William Gillespie | 2,921  |  | Ed Cassidy
Hutt |  | Walter Nash | 2,248  |  | Jack Andrews
Invercargill |  | Ralph Hanan | 2,123  |  | F G Spurdle
Island Bay |  | Robert McKeen | 1,680  |  | James Duncan
Karori |  | Charles Bowden | 3,453  |  | Jim Bateman
Lyttelton |  | Terry McCombs |  | Harry Lake | 133  |  | Terry McCombs[note 1]
Manawatu |  | Matthew Oram | 3,465  |  | B A Rodgers
Marlborough |  | Tom Shand | 2,452  |  | Ted Meachen
Marsden |  | Alfred Murdoch | 4,001  |  | Mervyn Allan Hosking
Miramar |  | Bob Semple | 301  |  | Cuthbert Taylor
Mornington |  | Wally Hudson | 3,783  |  | Richard Philling
Mount Albert |  | Warren Freer | 604  |  | Reg Judson
Mount Victoria |  | Jack Marshall | 2,198  |  | Frank Kitts
Napier |  | Tommy Armstrong |  | Peter Tait | 44  |  | Tommy Armstrong[note 2]
Nelson |  | Edgar Neale | 2,831  |  | Stan Whitehead
New Plymouth |  | Ernest Aderman | 2,335  |  | Clarence Robert Parker
North Shore |  | Dean Eyre | 2,155  |  | Richard Wrathall
Oamaru |  | Thomas Hayman | 1,315  |  | C J Ryan
Onehunga |  | Arthur Osborne | 1,966  |  | Leonard Bradley
Onslow |  | Harry Combs | 1,106  |  | John S Meadowcroft[10]
Otahuhu |  | Leon Götz | 2,128  |  | James Deas
Otaki |  | Jimmy Maher | 1,142  |  | Phil Holloway
Pahiatua |  | Keith Holyoake | 4,598  |  | Owen Jones
Palmerston North |  | Blair Tennent | 200  |  | Joe Hodgens[note 3]
Parnell |  | Duncan Rae | 1,587  |  | Hugh Watt[11]
Patea |  | William Sheat | 2,467  |  | Frederick William Finer
Petone |  | Mick Moohan | 2,135  |  | Norm Croft
Piako |  | Stan Goosman | 6,364  |  | Gilbert Parsons Kenah
Ponsonby |  | Ritchie Macdonald | 1,504  |  | Peter Dempsey[12]
Raglan |  | Hallyburton Johnstone | 1,766  |  | James Harrison Wilson
Rangitikei |  | Edward Gordon | 3,677  |  | F A Dalzell
Remuera |  | Ronald Algie | 5,346  |  | Bob Tizard
Riccarton |  | Angus McLagan | 2,265  |  | Eric Philip Wills[13]
Rodney |  | Clifton Webb | 4,893  |  | Arthur Laurence Leaming
Roskill |  | John Rae | 440  |  | Pat Curran
St Albans |  | Jack Watts | 1,415  |  | John Bernard Mora
St Kilda |  | Fred Jones |  | Jim Barnes | 336  |  | Fred Jones
Selwyn |  | John McAlpine | 1,836  |  | Jim Barclay
Sydenham |  | Mabel Howard | 4,403  |  | Albert Hugh Stott
Tamaki |  | Eric Halstead | 1,461  |  | Tom Skinner
Tauranga |  | Frederick Doidge |  | George Walsh | 5,400  |  | Hillary Joseph Pickett
Timaru |  | Clyde Carr | 564  |  | William Leslie Richards
Waikato |  | Geoffrey Sim | 6,369  |  | William Henry Bayly
Waimarino |  | Paddy Kearins | 67  |  | Arthur MacPherson
Waimate |  | David Kidd | 2,232  |  | A G Braddick
Wairarapa |  | Bert Cooksley | 2,032  |  | George Anders Hansen
Waitakere |  | Rex Mason | 641  |  | Robert Tapper
Waitomo |  | Walter Broadfoot | 5,286  |  | J Dwyer
Wallace |  | Tom Macdonald | 5,060  |  | J W Cleary
Wanganui |  | Joe Cotterill | 226  |  | Ernest Victor O'Keefe
Wellington Central |  | Charles Chapman | 277  |  | Berta Burns
Westland |  | Jim Kent | 2,325  |  | Isabella Catherine Brown
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori |  | Tiaki Omana | 3,706  |  | Turi Carroll
Northern Maori |  | Tapihana Paikea | 2,132  |  | James Henare[14]
Southern Maori |  | Eruera Tirikatene | 659  |  | William Beaton
Western Maori |  | Iriaka Rātana | 7,352  |  | Hoeroa Marumaru

Table footnotes:

1. ^ Terry McCombs was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
2. ^ Tommy Armstrong was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
3. ^ Joe Hodgens was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 58.
2. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 82–83.
3. ^ Gustafson, Barry. "Holland, Sidney George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
4. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 138.
5. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 286.
6. ^ a b Wilson 1985, pp. 287–288.
7. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 290.
8. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 288.
9. ^ "The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1951–52". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
10. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 378.
11. ^ Norton 1988, p. 314.
12. ^ Gustafson 1986, pp. 360f.
13. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 390.
14. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 247.

## References

[edit]

* Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
* Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
* Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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