1959 Hamilton by-election

1959 Hamilton by-election

←  1957 general 2 May 1959 (1959-05-02) 1960 general  →
Turnout	13,555 (78.40%)
Candidate Lance Adams-Schneider Ben Waters Party National Labour Popular vote 7,832 4,844 Percentage 57.89 35.81
Member before election Hilda Ross National Elected Member Lance Adams-Schneider National

The Hamilton by-election 1959 was a by-election held in the Hamilton electorate in Hamilton in the Waikato during the term of the 32nd New Zealand Parliament, on 2 May 1959.

Background

The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Hilda Ross of the National Party on 6 March 1959. ^[1] The by-election was won by Lance Adams-Schneider, also of the National Party. ^[2]

Candidates

Labour
There were two candidates for the Labour Party nomination: ^[3]

• Iris Martin, matron of Wellington Hospital and daughter of former Labour cabinet minister Lee Martin
• Ben Waters, a member of Labour's national executive and candidate for Hamilton in 1951, 1954 and 1957

Labour chose Waters as its candidate. Waters had recently been appointed a trustee of the Waikato Savings Bank. ^[4] Contesting the seat three times prior, he slightly increased Labour share of the vote from 41.63 to 43.16 percent. ^[5]

National
There were seven candidates for the National Party nomination: ^[6]

• Lance Adams-Schneider, a member of the Taumarunui Borough Council and candidate for Hutt in 1957
• Dorothy Blomfield, a member of the Hamilton City Council
• Victor Allan de Lacey, a Hamilton businessman and a member of several National Party executive committees
• A. R. Griffiths, a member of the Hamilton City Council and former chairman of the Hamilton National Party
• Francis Dewsbury Pinfold, the chairman of the Hamilton Fire Board and former Mayor of Hamilton
• Deena Sergel, a war widow and candidate for Riccarton in 1957
• Geoffrey Taylor, an Auckland businessman and candidate for Mount Albert in 1957

The local National Party members selected Adams-Schneider as candidate for the seat. ^[7]

Social Credit
Frederick Charles Roberts, a Hamilton businessman, stood as the candidate for the Social Credit Party. In 1957 he stood for Social Credit in the Raglan electorate. ^[8]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1959 Hamilton by-election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Lance Adams-Schneider	7,832	57.89
	Labour	Ben Waters	4,844	35.81	−7.35
	Social Credit	Frederick Charles Roberts	852	6.30
Majority			2,988	22.09
Informal votes			27	0.20
Turnout			13,555	78.40	−13.87
Registered electors			17,289
	National hold		Swing

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 231.
2. Wilson 1985, p. 179.
3. "Two Labour Nominees". The Press . Vol. XCVIII, no. 28860. 3 April 1959. p. 12.
4. "Candidate for Hamilton – Labour Chooses Mr E. A. Waters". The Press . Vol. XCVIII, no. 28862. 6 April 1959. p. 8.
5. Norton 1988, p. 233.
6. "Seven Seeking National Nomination At Hamilton". The Press . Vol. XCVIII, no. 28855. 28 March 1959. p. 14.
7. "By-election at Hamilton – National Party Candidate". The Press . Vol. XCVIII, no. 28864. 8 April 1959. p. 14.
8. "Social Credit Candidate For Hamilton". The Press . Vol. XCVIII, no. 28850. 21 March 1959. p. 7.

References

• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. 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.