1953 North Dunedin by-election

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1953 North Dunedin by-election
← 1951 general 12 December 1953 (1953-12-12) 1954 general →
Turnout10,368 (70.42%)
  Ethel McMillan
Candidate Ethel McMillan Walter MacDougall
Party Labour National
Popular vote 6,424 3,944
Percentage 61.96 38.04
Member before election

Robert Walls
Labour

Elected Member

Ethel McMillan
Labour

The 1953 North Dunedin by-election was a by-election held during the 30th New Zealand Parliament in the Dunedin electorate of North Dunedin. The by-election occurred following the death of MP Robert Walls and was won by Ethel McMillan.

Background

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Robert Walls, who was first elected to represent Dunedin North (the electorate's previous and subsequent name) for the Labour Party in the 1945 by-election, died on 6 November 1953. This triggered the North Dunedin by-election, which was held on 12 December 1953.[1]

Candidates

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Labour

There were six nominations for the Labour Party nomination:[2]

  • Hubert Brown, a member of the Dunedin City Council who was Labour's mayoral candidate in 1950
  • Russell Calvert, an organiser for the Dunedin Combined Ratepayers' Association
  • Michael Connelly, a member of the Dunedin City Council and former Legislative Councillor
  • Ethel McMillan, a member of the Dunedin City Council and Otago Hospital Board
  • David Munro, Labour candidate for Wallace in 1946 and son of former MP Jim Munro
  • Jack Stead, a member of the Dunedin City Council and Secretary of the Otago Labour Representation Committee

The Deputy Mayor of Dunedin and former Minister of Defence, Fred Jones, was also speculated as a candidate, but it was thought more likely he would seek nomination for the St Kilda electorate at the scheduled general election. Connelly, McMillan and Stead were seen as the frontrunners to win nomination.[2] McMillan was chosen as the candidate.[3]

National

Walter Phillips MacDougall was selected as the candidate for the National Party. He was National's candidate for Dunedin Central in 1951.[3]

Previous election

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1951 general election: North Dunedin[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Walls 6,929 51.13 −0.89
National Donald Cameron 6,622 48.86
Majority 307 2.26 −2.57
Turnout 13,551 92.03 −3.04
Registered electors 14,724

Results

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The following table gives the election results:

1953 North Dunedin by-election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ethel McMillan 6,424 61.96
National Walter MacDougall 3,944 38.04
Majority 2,480 23.92
Turnout 10,368 70.41 −21.62
Registered electors 14,724

McMillan obtained 61.96% of the votes and was successful.[4] McMillan became the first woman to represent Dunedin North and would represent the electorate until the 1975 election, when she was defeated against Richard Walls of the National Party.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Norton 1988, p. 3.
  2. ^ a b "North Dunedin By-election – Six Seeking Labour Candidacy". The Press. Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27200. 18 November 1953. p. 10.
  3. ^ a b "North Dunedin By-election – Candidates Chosen". The Press. Vol. LXXXIX, no. 27206. 25 November 1953. p. 10.
  4. ^ a b c Norton 1988, p. 214.

References

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  • Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
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