1936 Manukau by-election

The 1936 Manukau by-election was a by-election during the 25th New Zealand Parliament in the Manukau electorate. It was held on Wednesday 30 September 1936. This by-election came about because of the resignation of Bill Jordan upon his appointment to the position of High Commissioner to the UK during the term of the 25th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election in the Manukau electorate was contested by Arthur Osborne for Labour and Frederick Doidge for National, with Osborne winning the election.

1936 Manukau by-election
30 September 1936
Turnout12,591 (78.69%)
 
Candidate Arthur Osborne Frederick Doidge
Party Labour National
Popular vote 8,593 3,998
Percentage 68.24% 31.75%
Manukau electorate boundaries used for the by-election
MP before election

Bill Jordan
Labour

 Elected MP

Arthur Osborne
Labour

Background and candidates

A by-election was triggered due to Bill Jordan's resignation upon his appointment to the post of High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[1]

Labour

The Labour party chose Arthur Osborne as their candidate for the seat. He had previously contested the Waitemata electorate unsuccessfully in the 1925, 1928, and 1931 elections.[2][3][4] In the 1935 election, he unsuccessfully contested the Parnell electorate.[5]

The unsuccessful nominees for the Labour candidacy were Mary Dreaver, Alec Monteith and James Purtell.[6]

National

The newly created National Party chose Frederick Doidge as their contestant for the seat. In the 1935 election, Doidge ran as an Independent in the Rotorua electorate, despite briefly courting the anti-Labour Democrat Party.[7] Of the four candidates, he came second after Labour's Alexander Moncur.[8] As a new party this was National's first real electoral test to see if the unification of the United, Reform & Democrat parties would be able to combat Labour more effectively.

Results

The following table contains the results of the by-election:

1936 Manukau by-election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Arthur Osborne 8,593 68.24
National Frederick Doidge 3,998 31.75
Informal votes 22 0.17 -0.40
Majority 4,595 36.49
Turnout 12,591 78.69 -11.10

The Manukau electorate was abolished at the next election in 1938. Osborne shifted to the new seat of Onehunga, which he held until his death in 1953. Doidge later represented the electorate of Tauranga for National from 1938 to 1951, when he retired.[7]

Notes
  1. Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
  2. The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  4. "Election Counts". Auckland Star. LXII (291). 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. "Final Counts". Auckland Star. LXVI (288). 5 December 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  6. "Manukau Seat". Auckland Star. LXVII (189). 11 August 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. Waterson, D. B. "Doidge, Frederick Widdowson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  8. "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (138). 7 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  9. "Final Figures". Auckland Star. LXVII (237). 6 October 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 20 June 2016.

References
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
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