Northern Maori by-election, 1963

Northern Maori by-election, 1963

16 March 1963 (1963-03-16)

Candidate Matiu Rata James Henare Party Labour National Popular vote 3,090 2,643 Percentage 42.04 35.96

MP before election Tapihana Paikea Labour Elected MP Matiu Rata Labour

The Northern Maori by-election of 1963 was a by-election for the electorate of Northern Maori on 16 March 1963 during the 33rd New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Tapihana Paikea on 7 January 1963.^[1]

The by-election was won by Matiu Rata, also of the Labour Party.^[2] The by-election was contested by nine candidates, including James Henare who had stood for the National Party several times previously.

The by-election was the closest National has come to winning a Maori seat since 1943, although National's Auckland division did not appreciate the opportunity with a Henare descendent and support from Ngati Whatua, and gave little money and backing to their candidate; for which they were later criticised by the “more astute” South Auckland and Wellington Division leaders. Henare still got the largest swing to National in a by-election in the party's history, with Labour having only a 447-vote majority compared with 3,372 at the previous general election. And over the next 20 years, National's vote in the four Maori seats shrunk to about ten percent, similar to the Social Credit vote.

Notes

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. pp. 249–250. ISBN 0-474-00177-6. 
• 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. 
• Wood, G. A. (1996) [1987]. Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament (2 ed.). Dunedin: University of Otago Press. p. 113. ISBN 1 877133 00 0. 

« (1912–1938) «   By-elections in New Zealand in the two-party era (1939–1995)   » (1996–present) » 26th Parliament Christchurch South, 1939 Auckland West, 1940 Waipawa, 1940 Waitemata, 1941 Bay of Plenty, 1941 Mid-Canterbury, 1942 Temuka, 1942 Hauraki, 1942 Christchurch East, 1943 Northern Maori, 1943 27th Parliament Awarua, 1944 Western Maori, 1945 Hamilton, 1945 Dunedin North, 1945 Raglan, 1946 28th Parliament Avon, 1947 Mount Albert, 1947 Westland, 1947 29th Parliament Brooklyn, 1951 30th Parliament Dunedin North, 1953 Onehunga, 1953 Onslow, 1954 Patea, 1954 31st Parliament Riccarton, 1956 Bay of Plenty, 1957 32nd Parliament Hamilton, 1959 33rd Parliament Hurunui, 1961 Waitaki, 1962 Buller, 1962 Timaru, 1962 Otahuhu, 1963 Northern Maori, 1963 Grey Lynn, 1963 34th Parliament There were no by-elections during the term of the 34th Parliament. 35th Parliament Southern Maori, 1967 Fendalton, 1967 Petone, 1967 Palmerston North, 1967 Eastern Maori, 1967 Hutt, 1968 36th Parliament Marlborough, 1970 37th Parliament Sydenham, 1974 38th Parliament Nelson, 1976 Mangere, 1977 Pahiatua, 1977 Rangitikei, 1978 39th Parliament Christchurch Central, 1979 Northern Maori, 1980 Onehunga, 1980 East Coast Bays, 1980 40th Parliament There were no by-elections during the term of the 40th Parliament. 41st Parliament Timaru, 1985 42nd Parliament There were no by-elections during the term of the 42nd Parliament. 43rd Parliament Tamaki, 1992 Wellington Central, 1992 Tauranga, 1993 44th Parliament Selwyn, 1994