1957 New Zealand general election

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| <- 1954 | 30 November 1957 (1957-11-30) | 1960 ->

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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| 1,157,365 (92.9%)
|  | First party  | Second party

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|

|  |
Leader  | Walter Nash | Keith Holyoake
Party  | Labour | National
Leader since  | 17 January 1951 | 13 August 1957
Leader's seat  | Hutt | Pahiatua
Last election  | 35 seats, 44.1%  | 45 seats, 44.3%
Seats won  | 41 | 39
Seat change  |  6  |  6
Popular vote  | 559,096 | 511,699
Percentage  | 48.3% | 44.2%
Swing  |  4.2%  |  0.1%

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Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin

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| Prime Minister before election

Keith Holyoake
National

| Subsequent Prime Minister

Walter Nash
Labour

|

The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.

## Background

[edit]

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections, and had been re-elected in the 1951 elections and the 1954 elections. As its third term in office continued, however, the Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, became increasingly ill. Holland's memory began to fail, and he is believed to have suffered a mild heart attack during the Suez Crisis. A mere two months before the 1957 election, Holland was persuaded by his party to step down; Keith Holyoake, his deputy, became prime minister. The Labour Party was still led by Walter Nash, who had been Finance Minister in the first Labour government.

New Zealand pased a new election act in 1956, which for one thing set a three-year term for parliament.[1]

The 1957 election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues, particularly introduction of the PAYE tax system. As a campaign promise, Labour announced that in the year that PAYE commenced, there would be a flat rebate of £100 on income tax — National attacked this as an election bribe. Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training. National made no great changes to its policy platform, and Holyoake largely retained the Cabinet he had inherited from his predecessor.

### MPs retiring in 1957

[edit]

Six National MPs intended to retire at the end of the 31st Parliament. No Labour MPs retired.

Party | Name | Electorate

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|

| National | Ernest Corbett | Egmont
George Herron | Awarua
Sidney Holland | Fendalton
Tom Macdonald | Wallace
Edgar Neale | Nelson
Matthew Oram | Manawatu

Jack Massey also left parliament at the election. He intended to stand again in Franklin but was deselected as a candidate by the National Party.[1]

## The election

[edit]

The date for the main 1957 election was 30 November. 1,252,329 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 92.9%. This turnout, although only average for the time, was not to be equalled or exceeded until the 1984 election. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

The Labour candidate for Clutha, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, and the election there was postponed to 18 January 1958.[2] The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election.[3]

## Election results

[edit]

### Party standings

[edit]

The 1957 election saw the governing National Party defeated by a narrow two-seat margin. It had previously held a ten-seat majority. National won a total of thirty-nine seats, while the Labour Party won forty-one. In the popular vote, National won 44% to Labour's 48%. The Social Credit Party won 7% of the vote, a drop from its previous result of 11%. It still won no seats.

Election results
Party  | Candidates  | Total votes  | Percentage  | Seats won  | change
| Labour | 80  | 559,096  | 48.31  | 41  | +6
| National | 80  | 511,699  | 44.21  | 39  | −6
| Social Credit | 80  | 83,498  | 7.21  | 0  | ±0
| Communist | 5  | 706  | 0.06  | 0  | ±0
| Liberal Federation | 2  | 282  | 0.02  | 0  | ±0
| Independents | 11  | 2,084  | 0.18  | 0  | ±0
Total  | 258  | 1,157,365  |  | 80 |

### Votes summary

[edit]

| Popular Vote

|  |
Labour |

| 48.31%
National |

| 44.21%
Social Credit |

| 7.21%
Others |

| 0.26%

| Parliament seats

|  |
Labour |

| 51.25%
National |

| 48.75%

Holyoake (right) congratulating Nash (left) on Labour's victory.

The table below shows the results of the 1957 general election:

Key

Labour National

Electorate results for the 1957 New Zealand general election. [4] Electorate  | Incumbent  | Winner  | Majority  | Runner up

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|
|
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General electorates
Ashburton |  | Geoff Gerard | 1,769  |  | George Glassey
Auckland Central |  | Bill Anderton | 3,856  |  | Aileen Joyce
Avon |  | John Mathison | 6,100  |  | William Ernest Olds
Awarua |  | George Herron |  | Gordon Grieve | 1,636  |  | J P Wyatt[5]
Bay of Plenty |  | Percy Allen | 910  |  | Godfrey Santon
Buller |  | Jerry Skinner | 2,677  |  | Norman Leon Bensemann
Christchurch Central |  | Robert Macfarlane | 4,071  |  | Colin McLachlan
Clutha |  | James Roy | 1,490  |  | Joseph Fahey [nb 1]
Dunedin Central |  | Phil Connolly | 1,778  |  | Marcus Anderson
Dunedin North |  | Ethel McMillan | 3,408  |  | George Terry
Eden |  | Duncan Rae | 498  |  | Ian Watkins[6]
Egmont |  | Ernest Corbett |  | William Sheat | 2,697  |  | Clarence Robert Parker
Fendalton |  | Sidney Holland |  | Jack Watts | 824  |  | Lawrence Godfrey Graham White[7]
Franklin |  | Jack Massey |  | Alfred E. Allen | 4,241  |  | Christopher Mountford
Gisborne |  | Reginald Keeling | 1,182  |  | Arthur MacPherson
Grey Lynn |  | Fred Hackett | 5,785  |  | Bernard Griffiths
Hamilton |  | Hilda Ross | 1,110  |  | Ben Waters
Hastings |  | Ted Keating | 1,070  |  | Arthur Heafy Sievewright
Hauraki |  | Arthur Kinsella | 1,161  |  | Brevat William Dynes
Hawkes Bay |  | Cyril Harker | 2,858  |  | Leonard Thomas Fischer
Heretaunga |  | Phil Holloway | 5,117  |  | Allan McCready
Hobson |  | Sidney Smith | 3,134  |  | Colin Moyle
Hurunui |  | William Gillespie | 1,749  |  | Lyn Christie
Hutt |  | Walter Nash | 4,430  |  | Lance Adams-Schneider
Invercargill |  | Ralph Hanan | 679  |  | Thomas Francis Doyle
Island Bay |  | Arnold Nordmeyer | 4,209  |  | Saul Goldsmith[8]
Karori |  | Jack Marshall | 3,061  |  | Keith Spry
Lyttelton |  | Harry Lake |  | Norman Kirk | 567  |  | Harry Lake
Manawatu |  | Matthew Oram |  | Blair Tennent | 1,575  |  | Patrick Kelliher
Manukau |  | Leon Götz | 159  |  | Cyril Douglas Stamp
Marlborough |  | Tom Shand | 1,782  |  | Roy Evans
Marsden |  | Don McKay | 2,088  |  | Mervyn Allan Hosking
Miramar |  | Bill Fox | 2,077  |  | Clevedon Costello
Mornington |  | Wally Hudson | 2,817  |  | Walter MacDougall
Mt Albert |  | Warren Freer | 3,987  |  | Geoffrey Taylor
Napier |  | Jim Edwards | 2,413  |  | Raymond Vincent Foster
Nelson |  | Edgar Neale |  | Stan Whitehead | 509  |  | Colin Wilson Martin
New Plymouth |  | Ernest Aderman | 657  |  | Ron Barclay
North Shore |  | Dean Eyre | 462  |  | Peter Lawrence Smith
Onehunga |  | Hugh Watt | 5,686  |  | Donald Watson
Onslow |  | Henry May | 2,675  |  | Kevin O'Brien [9]
Otago Central |  | Jack George | 2,788  |  | J H Rapson
Otahuhu |  | James Deas | 3,442  |  | Clive Haszard
Otaki |  | Jimmy Maher | 1,122  |  | Cyril Shamy
Pahiatua |  | Keith Holyoake | 4,020  |  | William Erle Rose
Palmerston North |  | Philip Skoglund | 1,348  |  | Bill Brown
Patea |  | Roy Jack | 902  |  | Benjamin R. Winchcombe
Petone |  | Mick Moohan | 4,159  |  | Dan Riddiford
Piako | New electorate  |  | Stan Goosman | 3,812  |  | Alistair Walker
Ponsonby |  | Ritchie Macdonald | 6,592  |  | Gordon Frederick Smith
Raglan |  | Hallyburton Johnstone |  | Douglas Carter | 161  |  | Alan Baxter
Rangitikei |  | Norman Shelton | 2,983  |  | Stephen Malcolm Roberton
Remuera |  | Ronald Algie | 4,766  |  | Russell Gordon Penney
Riccarton |  | Mick Connelly | 2,867  |  | Deena V. Sergel[10]
Rodney |  | Jack Scott | 3,112  |  | George Webber
Roskill |  | John Rae |  | Arthur Faulkner | 2,117  |  | John Rae
Rotorua |  | Ray Boord | 2,009  |  | Murray Linton
Selwyn |  | John McAlpine | 1,731  |  | Stanley Marshall Cook
St Albans |  | Jack Watts |  | Neville Pickering | 501  |  | Eric Philip Wills [11]
St Kilda |  | Jim Barnes |  | Bill Fraser | 791  |  | Jim Barnes
Stratford |  | Thomas Murray | 3,172  |  | J M Deegan
Sydenham |  | Mabel Howard | 6,450  |  | Oliver G. Moody
Tamaki |  | Eric Halstead |  | Bob Tizard | 589  |  | Eric Halstead
Tauranga |  | George Walsh | 3,342  |  | Oliver Liddell
Timaru |  | Clyde Carr | 2,954  |  | Alfred Davey
Waikato |  | Geoffrey Sim | 2,013  |  | Arthur John Ingram
Waipa |  | Stan Goosman |  | Hallyburton Johnstone | 1,813  |  | Albert Clifford Tucker
Wairarapa |  | Bert Cooksley | 1,058  |  | Bob Wilkie[12]
Waitakere |  | Rex Mason | 3,682  |  | Leonard Bradley
Waitaki | New electorate  |  | Thomas Hayman | 1,618  |  | A G Braddock
Waitemata |  | Norman King | 2,191  |  | Robert Muldoon
Waitomo |  | David Seath | 2,474  |  | Vic Haines
Wallace |  | Tom Macdonald |  | Brian Talboys | 4,319  |  | John Reid
Wanganui |  | Joe Cotterill | 1,419  |  | Alice Kathleen Maclean
Wellington Central |  | Frank Kitts | 1,685  |  | Max Wall
Westland |  | Jim Kent | 4,745  |  | Fred Boustridge
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori |  | Tiaki Omana | 4,197  |  | Wiremu Hoete Maxwell
Northern Maori |  | Tapihana Paikea | 4,310  |  | Timothy James Davis
Southern Maori |  | Eruera Tirikatene | 4,383  |  | Thomas Stratton
Western Maori |  | Iriaka Rātana | 5,553  |  | Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Table footnotes:

1. ^ The previous Labour candidate, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, so the election in Clutha was postponed to 18 January 1958[2]

## Post-election events

[edit]

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election:

* Hugh Watt resigned his seat on the Auckland Harbour Board on 17 December 1957 after his appointment to cabinet.[13]
* There were two by-elections for the Christchurch City Council. Councillors Mabel Howard and John Mathison also resigned their seats following their election as cabinet ministers at the formation of the Second Labour government causing a by-election to replace them on the council. Likewise Robert Macfarlane resigned as Mayor of Christchurch upon his selection as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. Macfarlane was succeeded as mayor by councillor George Manning.[14] McFarlane was elected for one of the vacant seats on the council, with the other seats being won by Bill Glue, Bill MacGibbon and Peter Skellerup.[15]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Gustafson 1986, pp. 235.
2. ^ a b Norton 1988, p. 209.
3. ^ Cheng, Derek (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
4. ^ Norton 1988, pp. ?.
5. ^ Norton 1988, p. 197.
6. ^ Norton 1988, p. 220.
7. ^ Norton 1988, p. 224.
8. ^ Gustafson 1986, pp. 364f.
9. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 381.
10. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 386.
11. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 390.
12. ^ Espiner, Guyon (3 March 2012). "Profile: Labour deputy Grant Robertson". New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
13. ^ "Personal Items". The Press. Vol. XCVI, no. 28463\. 18 December 1957. p. 14.
14. ^ "Mayoralty to Mr Manning". The Press. 19 May 1958.
15. ^ "Council Seats – Gain of Two by Citizens". The Press. 19 May 1958.

## 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 published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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