1928 New Zealand general election

The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on 13 and 14 November in the Māori and European electorates, respectively, to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament.

13 (Māori) & 14 November (general) 1928
All 80 seats in the House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	88.01%
First party Second party   Leader Sir Joseph Ward Gordon Coates Party United Reform Leader since 17 September 1928 30 May 1925 Leader's seat Invercargill Kaipara Last election 11 seats, 22.4% 55 seats, 47.7% Seats won 27 27 Seat change 16 28 Popular vote 225,042 263,382 Percentage 29.75% 34.82% Swing 7.26% 9.97%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Harry Holland Harold Rushworth Party Labour Country Party Leader since 27 August 1919 November 1928 Leader's seat Buller Bay of Islands Last election 12 seats, 27.2% 0 seats, 0.3% Seats won 19 1 Seat change 7 1 Popular vote 198,092 11,990 Percentage 26.19% 1.59% Swing 3.50% 1.24%
Prime Minister before election Gordon Coates Reform Prime Minister-designate Joseph Ward United

1928 was the year postal voting was introduced for certain specified groups (e.g. invalids) who could not get to a polling booth on election day.

The election

The 1928 election was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates, and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of Parliament. A total of 844,633 electors were registered on the European roll, of which 743,691 (88.05%) turned out to vote.[1] All 80 electorates were contested.[2] 47 and 29 electorates were in the North Island and South Island, respectively, plus the 4 Māori electorates.[3]

In 1927, a faction of the decaying Liberal Party formed a new organisation, which was eventually named the United Party. In 1928, to the considerable surprise of most observers and many members of the party itself, United won a considerable victory, taking Auckland East and Grey Lynn from Labour. The United Government came to power with Labour support. Labour, forming the official opposition since 1926, were thus replaced by Reform.[4] Six Independents were elected (most with allegiances to the main parties. Four of these backed United, one supported Reform and one favoured neither.[5]

The Bay of Islands electorate went to Harold Rushworth of the Country Party after a recount of the votes, but the election was declared void January 1929.[6][7] Rushworth won the resulting by-election.[7] This marked the Country Party's first entry into Parliament, where it would retain a presence until 1938.

Result by party

The table below shows the result of the 1928 election.

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
	Reform	74	271,259	35.87	28^1	-27
	United	60	228,438	30.20	27^2	+16
	Labour	59	197,953	26.17	19	+7
	Country Party	5	11,990	1.59	1	+1
	Ratana	3	4,924	0.65	0	±0
	Independent	30	41,767	5.52	5	+3
Total		231	756,331		80

¹ Includes two who won as Independent Reform

²   United  previously contested as   Liberal  

Votes summary

Popular Vote Reform   35.87% United   30.20% Labour   26.17% Country   1.59% Rantana   0.65% Independent   5.52%

Parliament seats Reform   35.00% United   33.75% Labour   23.75% Country   1.25% Independent   6.25%

Initial composition of the 23rd Parliament

Map of electorates.

The United Party was organised in the House of Representatives, prior to the dissolution of the 22nd Parliament.

The Auckland Star reported on 18 September 1928, that:[8]

...the United Party were assembled yesterday in Wellington when Sir Joseph Ward accepted the leadership of the party. It had previously been decided, by unanimous resolution, that the party should go to the polls as "The United Party"...

The Evening Post newspaper reported on the same day that:[9]

The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward took his seat as Leader of the United Party in the House of Representatives this afternoon, Mr G.W. Forbes, who has led the Nationalist Party up to the present, relinquishing his former place in favour of Sir Joseph. From now until the end of the session the Nationalist Party ceases to exist under that name.

Key

  United     Reform     Labour     Country Party     Liberal–Labour     Ratana     Independent  

Electorate results for the 1928 New Zealand general election[10]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central		Bill Parry			3,024		William Hewitt
Auckland East		John A. Lee		James Donald	37		John A. Lee
Auckland Suburbs	New electorate			Rex Mason	1,098		Sir James Gunson
Auckland West		Michael Joseph Savage			1,341		Richard Speirs
Avon		Dan Sullivan			3,845		George Thomas Baker[11]
Awarua		John Hamilton		Philip De La Perrelle	1,005		John Hamilton
Bay of Islands		Allen Bell		Harold Rushworth	2		Allen Bell
Bay of Plenty		Kenneth Williams			1,867		Alexander Moncur
Buller		Harry Holland			3,617		Dugald Macdonald Robertson[12]
Central Otago	New electorate			William Bodkin	653		James Ritchie[13]
Chalmers		James Dickson		Alfred Ansell	619		Norman Hartley Campbell
Christchurch East		Tim Armstrong			2,260		Denis Franklyn Dennehy[14]
Christchurch North		Henry Holland			1,892		Ernest Andrews
Christchurch South		Ted Howard			433		Charlie McCully[15]
Clutha		Fred Waite			523		Joseph Stephens[16]
Dunedin Central		Sir Charles Statham			1,771		John Robinson[17]
Dunedin North		Harold Tapley		Jim Munro	1,231		Harold Tapley
Dunedin South		Thomas Sidey		William Taverner	33		Robert William Hall[18]
Dunedin West		Downie Stewart			1,277		Cornelius Machin Moss[18]
Eden		Rex Mason		Arthur Stallworthy	2,436		Vivian Potter
Egmont		Oswald Hawken		Charles Wilkinson	1,286		Oswald Hawken
Franklin		Ewen McLennan		Jack Massey	134		Harry Mellsop
Gisborne		Douglas Lysnar		Douglas Lysnar (Ind R)	346		David Coleman
Grey Lynn		Fred Bartram		John Fletcher	64		Fred Bartram
Hamilton		Alexander Young			1,073		Samuel Charles Gale Lye[19]
Hauraki	New electorate			Arthur Hall	891		Ebenezer Allan
Hawke's Bay		Hugh Campbell			690		Jack Lyon[20]
Hurunui		George Forbes			1,839		Leslie Robert Cathcart Macfarlane[21]
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			1,305		Walter Nash
Invercargill		Sir Joseph Ward, Bt.			3,178		Morell Macalister
Kaiapoi		David Buddo		Richard Hawke	96		James Arthur Flesher
Kaipara		Gordon Coates			2,475		Jim Barclay
Lyttelton		James McCombs			1,867		John Beanland
Manawatu		Joseph Linklater			1,466		Patrick James Small[22]
Manukau		Bill Jordan			3,659		Walter Mason[23]
Marsden		William Jones		Alfred Murdoch	450		William Jones
Masterton		George Sykes			1,238		William Thompson[24]
Mataura		George Anderson		David McDougall	62		George Anderson
Mid-Canterbury	New electorate			David Jones	55		Jeremiah Connolly
Motueka		Richard Hudson		George Black	613		Richard Hudson
Napier		John Mason		Bill Barnard	418		John Mason
Nelson		Harry Atmore			2,309		Frederick William Oscar Smith
New Plymouth	New electorate			Sydney Smith	1,467		Charles Bellringer
Oamaru		Ernest Lee		John Macpherson	337		Ernest Lee
Oroua		John Eliott		John Cobbe	732		John Eliott
Otaki		William Field			813		Archibald Burnett Sievwright
Pahiatua		Alfred Ransom			922		Harold Smith
Palmerston		Jimmy Nash			2,350		Walter Bromley
Parnell		James S. Dickson		Harry Jenkins	849		James S. Dickson
Patea		Harold Dickie			182		James Douglas Hislop[25]
Raglan		Lee Martin			1,041		Walter Seavill[26]
Rangitikei		William Glenn		James Hogan	1,234		William Glenn
Riccarton		Bert Kyle			45		Archibald Albany McLachlan[14]
Roskill		Vivian Potter		George Munns	2,344		Arthur Richards
Rotorua		Frank Hockly		Cecil Clinkard	200		Frank Hockly
Stratford		Edward Walter		William Polson	982		Edward Walter
Tauranga		Charles MacMillan			678		Douglas Charles Chalmers[27]
Temuka		Thomas Burnett			86		Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames		Thomas Rhodes		Albert Samuel	1,302		John Sommerville Montgomerie[28]
Timaru		Frank Rolleston		Clyde Carr	467		Frank Rolleston
Waikato		Stewart Reid		Frederick Lye	86		Stewart Reid
Waimarino		Robert Smith		Frank Langstone	985		Robert Smith
Waipawa		Sir George Hunter			1,860		Ernest Albert Goodger[29]
Wairarapa		Alexander McLeod		Thomas McDonald	566		Alexander McLeod
Wairau		William Girling		Edward Healy	292		William Girling
Waitaki		John Bitchener			1,202		Frederick Cooke
Waitemata		Alexander Harris			315		Reginald Greville
Waitomo		John Rolleston		Walter Broadfoot	532		John Rolleston
Wallace		Adam Hamilton			20		Walter Taylor
Wanganui		Bill Veitch			2,137		Bill Rogers
Wellington Central		Peter Fraser			3,458		Dunbar Sloane
Wellington East		Thomas Forsyth		Bob Semple	966		Thomas Forsyth
Wellington North		Sir John Luke		Charles Chapman	47		Sir John Luke
Wellington South		Robert McKeen			2,953		Martin Luckie
Wellington Suburbs		Robert Wright			1,985		Tom Brindle
Westland		Tom Seddon		James O'Brien	185		Tom Seddon
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Sir Āpirana Ngata			3,104		Pita Moko
Northern Maori		Taurekareka Henare			880		Paraire Karaka Paikea
Southern Maori		Henare Uru		Tuiti Makitanara	1		Eruera Tirikatene
Western Maori		Sir Māui Pōmare			1,599		Toko Ratana

Notes

1. "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
2. "General Election". Auckland Star. LIX (255). 27 October 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
3. Wilson 1985, p. 173.
4. Bassett 1982, p. 46.
5. Bassett 1982, p. 67.
6. "State of Parties". Auckland Star. LIX (280). 26 November 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
7. Wilson 1985, p. 232.
8. "Leadership Settled". Auckland Star. LIX (221). 18 September 1928. p. 9. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
9. "New Leader Takes His Seat". The Evening Post. CVI (58). 18 September 1928. p. 13. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
10. Skinner 1929, pp. 1–7.
11. "Electoral Notices". The Press. LXIV (19454). 30 October 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
12. "Robertson, Dugald Macdonald, fl 1909-1971 : Papers". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
13. "Notice of nominations received and polling places appointed". Dunstan Times (3395). 5 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
14. "Christchurch Nominations". The Press. LXIV (19451). 26 October 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
15. "Straight Grained". New Zealand Truth (1197). 8 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
16. "Labour's Candidates". Maoriland Worker. 12 (299). 22 November 1922. p. 12. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
17. "Nominations". Otago Daily Times (20550). 27 October 1928. p. 9. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
18. "The election : nomination day". Evening Star (20009). 29 October 1928. p. 7. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
19. "Election Candidates". The New Zealand Herald. LXV (19939). 7 May 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
20. "Death in Action". The New Zealand Herald. LXXVIII (23984). 6 June 1941. p. 9. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
21. "Electoral notices". The Press. LXIV (19454). 30 October 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
22. "General notices". Manawatu Times. LIII (6748). 30 October 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
23. "Electoral". Auckland Star. LIX (256). 29 October 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
24. "Notice of nominations received and polling places appointed". Wairarapa Daily Times. 30 October 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
25. "Patea". The Evening Post. CVI (85). 19 October 1928. p. 11. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
26. "General election : date drawing nearer". Franklin Times. XVIII (124). 29 October 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
27. "Declarations of result of poll for the electoral district of Tauranga". Bay of Plenty Times. LVII (9936). 24 November 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
28. "Public notices". Waihi Daily Telegraph. XXV (7769). 1 November 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
29. "Personal Items". The Evening Post. CIX (72). 26 March 1930. p. 13. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

References

• Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mackie, Thomas T.; Rose, Richard (1991). The International Almanac of Electoral History, 3rd edition. Macmillan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. Retrieved 4 December 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Photos of Members of Parliament as elected in November 1928