1935 New Zealand general election

The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister. The governing coalition, consisting of the United Party and the Reform Party, suffered a major defeat, attributed by many to their handling of the Great Depression. The year after the election, United and Reform took their coalition further, merging to form the modern National Party.

26 (Māori) & 27 November (general) 1935
All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Michael Joseph Savage George Forbes
Party Labour United/Reform
Leader since 12 October 1933 18 September 1931
Leader's seat Auckland West Hurunui
Last election 24 seats, 34.3% 51 seats, 55.4%
Seats after 53 19
Seat change 29 29
Popular vote 389,911 285,422
Percentage 45.73% 33.48%
Swing 11.8% 22.5%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Harold Rushworth Eruera Tirikatene
Party Country Party Ratana
Leader since November 1928 3 August 1932
Leader's seat Bay of Islands Southern Maori
Last election 1 seat, 2.3% 0 seats, 1.00%
Seats after 2 2
Seat change 1 2
Popular vote 11,809 6,249
Percentage 1.67% 0.73%
Swing 0.67% 0.27%
Prime Minister before election

George Forbes
United/Reform

 Subsequent Prime Minister

Michael Joseph Savage
Labour

The election was originally scheduled to be held in 1934, in keeping with the country's three-year election cycle. The governing coalition postponed the election by one year in the hope that the current economic conditions would improve by 1935.[1]

Background

Since 1931, New Zealand had been governed by a coalition of the United Party and the Reform Party, the United–Reform Coalition. United and Reform had traditionally been enemies – United was a revival of the old Liberal Party, a progressive party with a strong urban base, while Reform was a conservative party with a strong rural base. When the 1928 elections left United and Reform with an equal number of seats, United managed to obtain support from the growing Labour Party, but in 1931, the worsening depression prompted a dispute over economic policy, and Labour withdrew its backing. Reform then agreed to go into coalition with United, fearing that an election would lead to significant gains for the "socialistic" Labour. The coalition held on to power in the 1931 elections, but the ongoing economic troubles made the government deeply unpopular, and by the time of the 1935 elections, Labour's support was soaring.

On Sunday 24 November, shortly before the election, an address by Colin Scrimgeour ("Uncle Scrim") on the Friendly Road radio station, which was expected to urge listeners to vote Labour, was jammed by the Post Office.

Campaign

The Dominion, a Wellington newspaper, printed anti-Labour advertisements and editorials.[2]

The election

The number of electorates being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since the 1902 Electoral Redistribution.[3][4]

Four of those were Māori electorates, and those elections were held on 26 November.[5] 19 candidates contested the four available positions, and in three out of four cases, the incumbents were returned.[6][7]

The election in the European electorates was held on the following day, a Wednesday.[5] A total of 246 candidates contested the 76 European electorates, between two and six per electorate (Wellington East had six candidates, and there was a contest in all electorates), i.e. an average of 3.2 candidates per electorate.[8] 919,798 people were registered to vote in European electorates (enrolment data for Māori electorates are only available since the 1954 election), and there was a turnout of 90.75%.[9] This turnout was considerably higher than the turnout in the previous election (84.26%) and the highest turnout so far, but still about average for the next decades.[9]

Elsie Andrews (1888–1948) was one of only three women who stood for election in this year.[10]

Results

Summary

The 1935 election saw a massive win for the opposition Labour Party, which won fifty-three seats, and formed the First Labour Government. The governing coalition won only nineteen, and three ministers were defeated (in Hamilton, Tauranga and Waitaki). This difference was not so great in the popular vote, however, with Labour winning 45.7% to the coalition's 33.5%. Labour was more fortunate than its British namesake in not attaining office before the depression (thanks to Seddon's lengthy reign) "and so could hold the conservative coalition responsible if natural laws of economics behaved unnaturally".[11]

Apart from Labour and the coalition, the only two groups to win places in Parliament were the Country Party and the Ratana movement, both of which won two seats.

Four independents were elected, Harry Atmore, David McDougall, Charles Wilkinson and Robert Wright. The independents were tactically supported by one of the major parties who did not stand a candidate against them, and they generally voted with that party; Wilkinson and Wright supported the coalition while Atmore and McDougall supported Labour. Labour also did not stand candidates against the two Country Party members.[12]

Many commentators blamed the coalition's failure to win seats on vote splitting by the Democrat Party, an "anti-socialist" group founded by a former organiser for the governing coalition, Albert Davy, and headed by Thomas Hislop, the Mayor of Wellington. Perhaps as many as eight seats were an unexpected bonus to Labour because of the three-way split.[13] The Democrats won 7.8% of the vote, but no seats.

Two future National MPs stood unsuccessfully: Frederick Doidge stood as an Independent for Rotorua and came second, and Matthew Oram stood for the Democrats in Manawatu and came fourth.[14]

An analysis of men and women on the rolls against the votes recorded showed that in 1935 90.75% of those on the European rolls voted; men 92.02% and women 89.46%. In the 1938 election the figures were 92.85% with men 93.43% and women 92.27%. As the Māori electorates did not have electoral rolls they could not be included.[15][16]

Party totals
Map of electorates.
Election results
Party Candidates Votes Percentage Seats change
Labour 70 389,911 45.73 53 +29
Reform 74 285,422 33.48 9 −31
United 7
Democrats 53 66,695 7.82 0 -
Country Party 6 11,809 1.67 2 +1
Ratana 4 6,249 0.73 2 +2
Communist 4 600 0.07 0 ±0
Independents 60 87,748 10.29 7 –1
Total: 267 852,637 100 80

Votes summary
Popular Vote
Labour
 
 45.73%
United–Reform Coalition
 
 33.48%
Democrats
 
 7.82%
Country Party
 
 1.67%
Ratana
 
 0.73%
Independent
 
 10.57%
Parliament seats
Labour
 
 66.25%
United–Reform Coalition
 
 23.75%
Country Party
 
 2.50%
Ratana
 
 2.50%
Independent
 
 5%

Electorate results

The following table shows the detailed results: Key

  Labour     Independent     United     Reform     United/Reform     Democrat     Ratana     Country Party  

Electorate results for the 1935 New Zealand general election[17]
ElectorateIncumbentWinnerMajorityRunner up
General electorates
Auckland Central Bill Parry 5,301[18] Clifford Reid Dodd[19]
Auckland East Bill Schramm 2,337[20] Harold Percy Burton[21]
Auckland Suburbs Rex Mason 4,896[18] William Alexander Bishop[22]
Auckland West Michael Joseph Savage 6,180[23] Ernest David Stallworthy[24]
Avon Dan Sullivan 5,410[25] Lancelot Charles Walker
Awarua Philip De La Perrelle James Hargest[nb 1] 950[27] Thomas Francis Doyle
Bay of Islands Harold Rushworth 2,121[6] Clive Cameron
Bay of Plenty vacant[nb 2] Gordon Hultquist 555[29] John Tom Merry[30]
Buller Paddy Webb 4,499[31] John H Powell[32]
Central Otago William Bodkin 1,819[31] Herbert Kerr Edie[33]
Chalmers Alfred Ansell Archie Campbell 1,071[27] Alfred Ansell
Christchurch East Tim Armstrong 5,728[18] Sydney Richardson[34][35]
Christchurch North Henry Holland Sidney Holland 971[18] Robert Macfarlane
Christchurch South Ted Howard 5,585[18] Tom Milliken[36][37]
Clutha Peter McSkimming James Roy[nb 3] 1,930[6] Rev. Edwin Thoms Cox[38]
Dunedin Central Charles Statham Peter Neilson 1,729[27] Donald Cameron[39]
Dunedin North Jim Munro 1,668[6] Alexander Smith Falconer[40][41][42][43]
Dunedin South Fred Jones 3,378[29] Stuart Sidey
Dunedin West William Downie Stewart Gervan McMillan 945[44] William Downie Stewart[45]
Eden Arthur Stallworthy Bill Anderton 2,465[44] Arthur Stallworthy
Egmont Charles Wilkinson 3,172[18] James Ross[46]
Franklin Jack Massey Arthur Sexton 685[6] Jack Massey
Gisborne David Coleman 1,817[20] Douglas Lysnar
Grey Lynn John A. Lee 8,012[44] George Wildish[47]
Hamilton Alexander Young Charles Barrell 1,391[6] Alexander Young
Hauraki Walter William Massey Charles Robert Petrie 544[48] Walter William Massey
Hawke's Bay Hugh Campbell Ted Cullen 1,010[27] Hugh Campbell
Hurunui George Forbes 1,203[18] Donald Cyrus Davie[49]
Hutt Walter Nash 7,757[20] Victor Emmanuel Jacobson[50]
Invercargill James Hargest William Denham 346[27] Gordon Reed[51]
Kaiapoi Richard Hawke Morgan Williams 1,424[27] Richard Hawke
Kaipara Gordon Coates 302[6] William Grounds
Lyttelton Terry McCombs 2,775[20] Seton Fulton Marshall[52][53]
Manawatu Joseph Linklater Lorrie Hunter 60[31] Joseph Linklater
Manukau Bill Jordan 6,402[44] Herbert Jenner Wily[54]
Marsden Alfred Murdoch Jim Barclay 347[18] Alfred Murdoch
Masterton George Sykes John Robertson 325[29] George Sykes
Mataura David McDougall 1,658[18] Thomas Golden[55]
Mid-Canterbury vacant[nb 4] Horace Herring 462[18] James Carr[57]
Motueka Keith Holyoake 280[27] Rubert York[58][59]
Napier Bill Barnard 4,057[60] F B Logan
Nelson Harry Atmore 2,610[6] Herbert Everett[61]
New Plymouth Sydney George Smith 831[27] Fred Frost
Oamaru John Andrew MacPherson Arnold Nordmeyer 1,142[27] John Andrew MacPherson
Oroua John Cobbe 2,333[6] William Henry Oliver[nb 5]
Otaki William Hughes Field Leonard Lowry 1,720[31] G. A. Monk[63]
Pahiatua Alfred Ransom 1,175[18] R A Gower
Palmerston Jimmy Nash Joe Hodgens 115[64] Gus Mansford
Parnell Bill Endean 731[48] Arthur Osborne
Patea Harold Dickie 649[27] W G Simpson
Raglan Lee Martin 1,695[27] Stewart Reid[65]
Rangitikei Alexander Stuart Ormond Wilson 907[66] Alexander Stuart
Riccarton Bert Kyle 1,139[18] G T Thurston
Roskill Arthur Shapton Richards 4,023[48] Thomas James Fleming[24]
Rotorua Cecil Clinkard Alexander Moncur 1,452[6] Frederick Doidge
Stratford William Polson[nb 6] 339[6] Philip Skoglund
Tauranga Charles MacMillan Charles Burnett 41[31] Charles MacMillan
Temuka Thomas Burnett 605[6] Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames Albert Samuel Jim Thorn 1,262[48] Albert Samuel
Timaru Clyde Carr 1,059[27] W Thomas
Waimarino Frank Langstone 1,863[6] Cecil Boles
Waipawa Albert Jull Max Christie 259[27] Albert Jull
Waikato Frederick Lye Robert Coulter 784[66] Frederick Lye
Wairarapa Alexander McLeod Ben Roberts 33[27] John Wiltshire Card[67][68]
Wairau Edward Healy Ted Meachen 352[18] Edward Healy
Waitaki John Bitchener David Barnes 479[45] John Bitchener
Waitemata Alexander Harris Jack Lyon 2,684[18] Alexander Harris
Waitomo Walter Broadfoot 1,526[6] Jack Jones[69]
Wallace Adam Hamilton 2,034[18] Lawrence Edmond[70]
Wanganui Bill Veitch Joe Cotterill 1,569[18] Bill Veitch
Wellington Central Peter Fraser 4,479[6] Will Mason[71]
Wellington East Bob Semple 3,323[18] Ossie Mazengarb
Wellington North Charles Henry Chapman 794[20] Elizabeth Gilmer[72]
Wellington South Robert McKeen 6,059[18] Henry Featherston Toogood[50][68]
Wellington Suburbs Robert Alexander Wright 1,856[18] Peter Butler[50]
Westland James O'Brien 3,677[6] H R Young[73]
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori Āpirana Ngata 3,224[6] Tiaki Omana
Northern Maori Taurekareka Henare 983[6] Paraire Karaka Paikea
Southern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 43[6] Thomas Kaiporohu Bragg
Western Maori Taite Te Tomo Toko Ratana 47[7] Taite Te Tomo

Table footnotes:

  1. James Hargest ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the Reform Party[26]
  2. Kenneth Williams, the previous representative, died two days prior to the election[28]
  3. James Roy ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the United–Reform Coalition
  4. Jeremiah Connolly, the previous representative, died just prior to the election[56]
  5. Father of the historian W. H. Oliver[62]
  6. William Polson ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the United–Reform Coalition

Notes
  1. Simpson, Tony. "The Sugarbag Years". 1990 Penguin Books p. 212.
  2. Fensome, Alex (12 December 2014). "Savage voters ignored slur of reds and poisoned chocs". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  4. McRobie 1989, p. 67.
  5. Wilson 1985, p. 138.
  6. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (138). 7 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  7. "Maori Seats". The Evening Post. CXX (129). 27 November 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. "The General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (128). 26 November 1935. p. 20. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  9. Wilson 1985, p. 286.
  10. "Untitled". The New Zealand Herald. LXXII (22277). 27 November 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  11. Lipson 2011, p. 210.
  12. Milne, Robert Stephen (1966). Political Parties in New Zealand. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. p. 76.
  13. Bassett, Michael (2000). Tomorrow Comes the Song: A life of Peter Fraser. Auckland: Penguin. p. 136. ISBN 0-14-029793-6.
  14. "Government overwhelmed, People's emphatic mandate, Democrat Party rejected". Papers Past. 28 November 1935.
  15. New Zealand Official Year-book, 1942 p778
  16. "The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1942". Government Printer. 28 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  17. The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  18. "Election Results". The Evening Post. CXX (136). 5 December 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  19. "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". Auckland Star. LXVI (268). 12 November 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  20. "Maori Seats". The Evening Post. CXX (135). 4 December 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  21. "Political Candidates". Auckland Star. LXVI (191). 14 August 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  22. "Suburbs Seat". Auckland Star. LXVI (238). 8 October 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  23. "Final Counts". Auckland Star. LXVI (289). 6 December 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  24. "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. LXVI (268). 12 November 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  25. "Recount in Avon". The Evening Post. CXX (134). 3 December 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  26. Wilson 1985, p. 203.
  27. "Election Results". The Evening Post. CXX (137). 6 December 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  28. Robinson, Sheila. "Williams, Kenneth Stuart". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  29. "Further Final Counts". The Evening Post. CXX (139). 9 December 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  30. "Bay of Plenty Seat". Auckland Star. LXVI (174). 25 July 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  31. "How the votes were cast". The Evening Post. CXX (130). 28 November 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  32. "Buller Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (96). 19 October 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  33. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (10). 11 July 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  34. "Christchurch East". The Evening Post. CXX (106). 31 October 1935. p. 22. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  35. "Obituary Hon. E. Richardson, C.M.G." The Evening Post. LXXXIX (48). 26 February 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  36. "Christchurch South". The Evening Post. CXX (105). 30 October 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  37. "History". Cavell Leitch. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  38. "Dunedin Way". Auckland Star. LXVI (275). 20 November 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  39. "Dunedin Central". The Evening Post. CXX (84). 5 October 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  40. Ammentorp, Steen. "Falconer". generals.dk. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  41. "Cenotaph Record". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  42. "Brigadier A. S. Falconer". New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  43. Gustafson 1986, p. 362.
  44. "Parliamentary Elections". Auckland Star. LXVI (287). 4 December 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  45. "Canterbury Westland Province". Auckland Star. LXVI (282). 28 November 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  46. "Eltham Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (106). 31 October 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  47. "Women Take Part". The Evening Post. CXX (107). 1 November 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  48. "Final Counts". Auckland Star. LXVI (288). 5 December 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  49. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (80). 1 October 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  50. "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". The Evening Post. CXX (116). 12 November 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  51. "Otago Seats". The Evening Post. CXX (127). 25 November 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  52. "Lyttelton Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (115). 11 November 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  53. "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. LVIII (6155). 15 November 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  54. "Manukau Contest". Auckland Star. LXVI (249). 21 October 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  55. "Mataura Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (51). 28 August 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  56. "Mr. J. Connolly, MP". The Evening Post. CXX (82). 3 October 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  57. "Local and General". Ellesmere Guardian. LVI (80). 22 October 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  58. "Uncertainty in Motueka". Auckland Star. LXVI (280). 26 November 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  59. Parker, Edmund (November 1958). "Recollections of Earlier Days in Motueka, Part 1". Nelson Historical Society Journal. Nelson, New Zealand: Nelson Historical Society. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  60. "Napier Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (134). 3 December 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  61. "Nelson Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (34). 8 August 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  62. "William Henry Oliver". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  63. "Otaki Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (55). 2 September 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  64. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (136). 5 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  65. "South Auckland". Auckland Star. LXVI (202). 27 August 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  66. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (142). 12 December 1935. p. 13. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  67. "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed". The Evening Post. CXX (117). 13 November 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  68. "Wairarapa Seat". The Evening Post. CXX (16). 18 July 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  69. "Mrs. R. Bleasel". Auckland Star. LXIX (277). 23 November 1938. p. 4. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  70. "Local & General". Western Star. 12 November 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  71. "Nationalist Party". The Evening Post. CXX (47). 23 August 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  72. Labrum, Bronwyn. "Gilmer, Elizabeth May". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  73. "Avon Seat". The Evening Post. CXII (118). 14 November 1931. p. 14. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
gollark: And the trade hub?
gollark: The terms fixes?
gollark: Did we not *have* a september one?
gollark: Oh, yes, or next week, who knows.
gollark: Anyway, if it wasn't last night, there might just not be one until Octøber.

References
  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lipson, Leslie (2011) [1948]. The Politics of Equality: New Zealand’s Adventures in Democracy. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0-86473-646-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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