1941 Bay of Plenty by-election

The Bay of Plenty by-election of 1941 was a by-election for the electorate of Bay of Plenty held on 13 December 1941 during the 26th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Gordon Hultquist of the Labour Party who was killed in World War II.

1941 Bay of Plenty by-election

13 December 1941
Turnout	7,699 (83.48%)
Candidate Bill Sullivan Charles Mills Party National Labour Popular vote 4,675 3,024 Percentage 60.72 39.27
MP before election Gordon Hultquist Labour Elected MP Bill Sullivan National

The by-election was won by Bill Sullivan of the National Party; Labour lost a seat.

Campaign

Initially there was speculation that there would be no election necessary and that the National Party would not stand a candidate after the death of an MP on service in wartime (as happened in the Waitemata by-election).[1] This was not to be the case and National stood their candidate from the 1938 election and former Mayor of Whakatane Bill Sullivan.[2]

The Labour Party selected Charles Mills, a baker, as their candidate. He was an elected member of the Poverty Bay Electric Power Board and had been a campaign organiser for Hultquist in Bay of Plenty in both the 1935 and 1938 elections.[3]

The incipient Democratic Labour Party (DLP), who had recently formed a branch in the electorate in Opotiki, also contemplated standing a candidate.[4] However the DLP did not contest the seat.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1941 Bay of Plenty by-election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Bill Sullivan	4,675	60.72	+11.91
	Labour	Charles Mills	3,024	39.27
Informal votes			136	1.76	+1.11
Majority			1,651	21.44
Turnout			7,699	83.48	-9.03
Registered electors			9,222

References

1. Contest Assured. Gisborne Herald. LXVIII. 11 November 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
2. Bay of Plenty Seat - National Party's Candidate. The Press. LXXVII. 21 November 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
3. Labour Nominee. Gisborne Herald. LXVIII. 19 November 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
4. Bay of Plenty Seat. Gisborne Herald. LXVIII. 17 November 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
5. Declaration of Result of Poll. Bay of Plenty Beacon. 4. 5 January 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 23 December 2015.