New Zealand general election, 1960

New Zealand general election, 1960

26 November 1960

All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majority Turnout 1,170,503 (89.8%)   First party Second party   Leader Keith Holyoake Walter Nash Party National Labour Leader since 1957 1951 Leader's seat Pahiatua Hutt Last election 39 seats, 44.2% 41 seats, 48.3% Seats won 46 34 Seat change 7 7 Popular vote 557,046 508,179 Percentage 47.6% 43.4% Swing 3.4% 4.9%

Prime Minister before election Walter Nash Labour Elected Prime Minister Keith Holyoake National

The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.

Background

The Labour Party had won the 1957 elections by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes; Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, but the opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue.

The election

The date for the main 1960 elections was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

Results

The 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, having previously held a two-seat majority. National won a total of 46 seats to Labour's 34 seats, and formed the second National government.^[1] In the popular vote, National won 47.59% to Labour's 43.42%.^[2]

The Social Credit Party won 8.62% of the vote, but no seats.^[3] Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline, and the opening address of the party leader P. H. Matthews was not noteworthy.

Three new National members of parliament were called the Young Turks: Peter Gordon, Duncan MacIntyre and Robert Muldoon.^[4] The other new National MPs were Esme Tombleson, Bill Brown, Harry Lapwood, Logan Sloane, Bert Walker, and Dan Riddiford.^[5]

Paddy Blanchfield, Ron Bailey, Norman Douglas and George Spooner entered parliament for Labour.

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
	National	80	557,046	47.6	46	+7
	Labour	80	508,179	43.4	34	-7
	Social Credit	80	100,905	8.6	-	±0
	Communist	18	2,423	0.21	-	±0
	Others	7	1,950	0.2	-	±0
Total		269	1,170,503		80

Votes summary

Popular Vote
National			47.60%
Labour			43.40%
Social Credit			8.60%
Others			0.40%

Parliament seats
National			57.50%
Labour			42.50%

The table below shows the results of the 1960 general election:

Key

  National     Labour     Social Credit  

Electorate results for the New Zealand general election, 1960^[6]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		Richard Gerard			2,558		G Glassey
Auckland Central		Bill Anderton		Norman Douglas	1,846		R J Presland
Avon		John Mathison			4,216		Herbert Pickering
Awarua		Gordon Grieve			3,000		J P Wyatt
Bay of Plenty		Percy Allen			2,411		T G Santon
Buller		Clarence Skinner			1,546		Ernie King
Christchurch Central		Robert Macfarlane			1,935		T D Flint
Clutha		James Roy		Peter Gordon	3,863		J Fahey
Dunedin Central		Philip Connolly			842		N D Scurr
Dunedin North		Ethel McMillan			2,475		Miss M B Bell
Eden		Duncan Rae		John Rae	1,902		R G Penney
Egmont		William Sheat			3,933		J W Watson
Fendalton		Jack Watts		Harry Lake	2,722		Bill Rowling
Franklin		Alfred E. Allen			5,197		H T Preston
Gisborne		Reginald Keeling		Esme Tombleson	291		Reginald Keeling
Grey Lynn		Fred Hackett			4,596		B T Zouch
Hamilton		Lance Adams-Schneider			2,583		Basil Arthur
Hastings		Edwin Keating		Duncan MacIntyre	300		Edwin Keating
Hauraki		Arthur Kinsella			2,635		A C Tucker
Hawkes Bay		Cyril Harker			3,682		J G Woolf
Heretaunga		Phil Holloway		Ron Bailey	2,576		V E Hampson-Tindale
Hobson		Sidney Walter Smith		Logan Sloane	1,401		Vernon Cracknell
Hurunui		William Gillespie			2,731		A A Adcock
Hutt		Walter Nash			2,349		G L Barker
Invercargill		Ralph Hanan			1,926		O J Henderson
Island Bay		Arnold Nordmeyer			1,791		F F Curry
Karori		Jack Marshall			4,313		Mrs O E Smuts-Kennedy
Lyttelton		Norman Kirk			260		J B Hay
Manawatu		Blair Tennent			3,120		L T Fischer
Manukau		Leon Götz			245		C D Stamp
Marlborough		Tom Shand			1,747		R W Hope
Marsden		Donald McKay			4,351		J S Reid
Miramar		Bill Fox			467		B L Lyons
Mornington		Walter Hudson			2,246		G R Thorn
Mount Albert		Warren Freer			1,676		Mrs C M Anderson
Napier		Jim Edwards			1,405		W J Gunn
Nelson		Stanley Whitehead			1,767		C W Martin
New Plymouth		Ernest Aderman			1,693		Ron Barclay
North Shore		Dean Eyre			1,817		P L Smith
Onehunga		Hugh Watt			4,705		P B Phillips
Onslow		Henry May			790		Miss M J Clark
Otago Central		John George			4,344		Brian MacDonell
Otahuhu		James Deas			2,774		T J L Tucker
Otaki		James Joseph Maher		Allan McCready	2,044		T W Cameron
Pahiatua		Keith Holyoake			4,934		K D T McKane
Palmerston North		Philip Skoglund		Bill Brown	133		Philip Skoglund
Patea		Roy Jack			2,304		D C Valley
Petone		Michael Moohan			2,918		R M Martin
Piako		William Goosman			5,376		H J Uttinger
Ponsonby		Ritchie Macdonald			4,744		N F McLaughlan
Raglan		Douglas Carter			1,371		Alan Baxter
Rangitikei		Norman Shelton			3,889		S A Cameron
Remuera		Ronald Algie			6,109		Barry Gustafson
Riccarton		Mick Connelly			2,022		Mrs Deena V. Sergel [7]
Rodney		Jack Scott			4,157		Phil Amos
Roskill		Arthur Faulkner			1,374		G G P Taylor
Rotorua		Ray Boord		Harry Lapwood	358		Ray Boord
Selwyn		John McAlpine			2,839		J Palmer
St Albans		Neville Pickering		Bert Walker	298		Neville Pickering
St Kilda		William Fraser			835		Jim Barnes
Stratford		Thomas Murray			4,388		H M St George
Sydenham		Mabel Howard			4,793		Derek Quigley
Tamaki		Bob Tizard		Robert Muldoon	1,148		Bob Tizard
Tauranga		George Walsh			5,239		D C Goodfellow
Timaru		Clyde Carr			357		R E White
Waikato		Geoffrey Sim			3,041		A J Ingram
Waipa		Hallyburton Johnstone			3,241		R D Reese
Wairarapa		Bertie Cooksley			2,088		A G Goldsmith
Waitakere		Rex Mason			3,709		J H Wilkinson
Waitaki		Thomas Hayman			1,972		Les McKay
Waitemata		Norman King			1,249		J R Firth
Waitomo		David Seath			3,951		D B McLaren
Wallace		Brian Talboys			5,736		Mrs E Harris
Wellington Central		Frank Kitts		Dan Riddiford	381		Frank Kitts
Westland		James Begg Kent		Paddy Blanchfield	3,844		D A Hogg
Whanganui		Joseph Cotterill		George Spooner	160		E J Crotty
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Tiaki Omana			3,025		Arnold Reedy[8]
Northern Maori		Tapihana Paikea			3,372		G R Harrison
Southern Maori		Eruera Tirikatene			3,947		N W Tutaki
Western Maori		Iriaka Matiu Ratana			4,666		Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Table footnotes:

Bibliography

• The New Zealand Gazette "Members of the House of Representatives Elected - General Election" (20 December 1960) issue 84 page 2002.

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 288.
2. Wilson 1985, p. 290.
3. Wilson 1985, pp. 288, 290.
4. "Obituary: Duncan MacIntyre". The New Zealand Herald. 16 June 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
5. Gustafson 1986, p. 85.
6. Norton 1988.
7. Gustafson 1986, p. 386.
8. Gustafson 1986, p. 383.

References

• Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press.
• 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.