1947 Mount Albert by-election

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1947 Mount Albert by-election
Flag of New Zealand.svg
  1946 general 24 September 1947 (1947-09-24) 1949 general  

The Mount Albert seat in the House of Representatives.
Election by simple majority using first-past-the-post voting.
Turnout12,943 (87.09%)
  Warren Freer.jpg No image.png
Candidate Warren Freer Jack Garland
Party Labour National
Popular vote7,2355,682
Percentage56.01%43.99%

Member before election

Arthur Richards
Labour

Elected Member

Warren Freer
Labour

The 1947 Mount Albert by-election was a by-election held during the 28th New Zealand Parliament in the Auckland electorate of Mount Albert. The by-election occurred following the death of MP Arthur Richards and was won by Warren Freer.

Contents

Background

Arthur Richards, who was first elected to represent Roskill for the Labour Party in 1931, died on 5 August 1947. [1] This triggered the Mount Albert by-election, which occurred on 24 September 1947. Warren Freer was the candidate for the Labour Party, and Jack Garland was the candidate for the National Party.

Candidates

Labour
There were nine nominees for the Labour Party candidacy who included: [2]

The decision was deferred to the Labour Party's national executive. Freer was only 26 and relatively unknown to executive members, but local member Dick Barter convinced party leader Peter Fraser that his candidacy in Eden was adequate apprenticeship. [3] He was eventually selected. [4] [5] Richards had urged Freer to stand for the safe Labour seat of Mt Albert when he died. [3]

National
The National Party had five nominations which were: [6]

Garland was chosen after winning a ballot of local members. [7]

Campaign

Freer recalled two inspiring campaign speeches delivered by Martyn Finlay and Mabel Howard which were received well by voters. [8]

Previous election

1946 general election: Mount Albert [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Arthur Richards 7,681 56.88
National Frederick Ashley Hosking5,82443.12
Informal votes740.54
Majority 1,85713.75
Turnout 13,57994.47
Registered electors 14,374

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1947 Mount Albert by-election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Warren Freer 7,235 56.01
National Jack Garland5,68243.99
Majority 1,55312.02
Informal votes260.20−0.34
Turnout 12,94387.09−7.38
Registered electors 14,861
Labour hold Swing

Freer obtained 56% of the votes and was successful. [9] Freer was staggered when his majority was close to that of Richards in 1946, rather than being well below (as for most by-elections). [10] At the November local-body elections Garland was elected a member of the Auckland City Council.

Freer would hold the Mount Albert electorate for more than three decades until he retired at the 1981 election.

See also

Notes

  1. "Fatal Illness - Member for Mt. Albert - Death of Mr A. S. Richards". Otago Daily Times . No. 26532. 6 August 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. "Labour Considers Mt Albert Nominee". The Northern Advocate . 20 August 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 Freer 2004, pp. 26.
  4. "Labour Party Selects Candidate for Mount Albert Seat". Evening Star . No. 26189. 26 August 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  5. "Mount Albert Poll - Labour Candidate Selected". The New Zealand Herald . 26 August 1947. p. 6.
  6. "National Nominees For Mt Albert". The Northern Advocate . 23 August 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  7. "National Candidate for Mt Albert Seat". The Northern Advocate . 2 September 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. Freer 2004, pp. 28.
  9. 1 2 3 Norton 1988, p. 280.
  10. Freer 2004, pp. 29.

References