1944 Awarua by-election

The 1944 Awarua by-election was a by-election held during the 27th New Zealand Parliament in the Southland electorate of Awarua. The by-election occurred following the death of MP James Hargest and was won by George Herron.

1944 Awarua by-election
28 October 1922
Turnout7,466
 
Candidate George Herron Leo Sylvester O'Sullivan
Party National Labour
Popular vote 4,659 2,558
Percentage 62.40 34.26
Member before election

James Hargest
National

 Elected Member

George Herron
National

Background

Hargest, who was first elected to represent Awarua in 1935, was killed in action on 12 August 1944. His death instigated the Awarua by-election, which was contested by three candidates.

George Herron, a local official in the Farmers Union, was chosen to contest the seat for the National Party. The Labour Party chose local schoolteacher Leo Sylvester O'Sullivan as their nominee. Previously, Labour had attempted to secure Victoria Cross recipient Jack Hinton to stand as their candidate, who had previously signalled his interest in pursuing a career in politics, however he was unable to be contacted to confirm his candidacy.[1] Robert Henderson, a local pensioner, stood for the Real Democracy Movement who advocated for monetary reform.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1944 Awarua by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National George Herron 4,659 62.40
Labour Leo Sylvester O'Sullivan 2,558 34.26
Real Democracy Robert Henderson 249 3.33
Majority 2,101 28.14
Turnout 7,466

Notes
  1. "Awarua By-election". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVIII, no. 89. 12 October 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2017 – via Papers Past.
  2. "National Win Awarua By-election". Auckland Star. Vol. LXXV, no. 257. 30 October 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 6 June 2017.

References
  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.


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