1977 Pahiatua by-election
30 April 1977 (1977-04-30)
Turnout14,377 (68.49%)
 
Candidate John Falloon Alan Levatt
Party National Labour
Popular vote 9,059 4,280
Percentage 63.01 29.77
MP before election

Sir Keith Holyoake
National

 Elected MP

John Falloon
National

The Pahiatua by-election of 1977 was a by-election for the electorate of Pahiatua on 30 April 1977 during the 38th New Zealand Parliament.

Background

The by-election resulted from the resignation of the previous member Sir Keith Holyoake when he was appointed Governor-General.

Candidates

Labour

The Labour Party had seven candidates including:[1]

Levatt, who earned his Ph.D. from Michigan University and had previously lectured in American universities, was selected as the candidate.[1]

National

Five candidates were shortlisted for the National nomination.[2]

  • Graham Percy Adam, a company director and former Mayor of Eketāhuna
  • Garth Cassidy, a managing director from Waipukurau and member of the Hawkes Bay Harbour Board
  • John Falloon, a farmer from Masterton and the meat and wool chairman for the Wairarapa branch of Federated Farmers
  • Hamish Kynoch, a farmer from Ashley Clinton and runner-up for Young Farmer of the Year in 1972
  • Weston Macpherson, a farmer and chairman of the Norsewood branch of Federated Farmers.

At a selection meeting in the Pahiatua Town Hall four ballots were taken of National members. Kynoch was initially the frontrunner to win the nomination and lead the voting until the final ballot which selected Falloon as the candidate.[3][4][5]

Values

The Values Party selected Peter McHugh as its candidate. McHugh, a secondary school from Hastings, had stood as the Values candidate for Pahiatua in 1975.[6]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1977 Pahiatua by-election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National John Falloon 9,059 63.01
Labour Allan Levett 4,280 29.77
Social Credit Graeme Hislop 844 5.87 -3.89
Values Peter McHugh 194 1.35 -2.18
Majority 4,779 33.24
Turnout 14,377 68.49 -16.12
Registered electors 20,993
National hold Swing

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Lecturer to bid for seat". The Press. 1 April 1977. p. 4.
  2. ↑ "Five party hopefuls in Pahiatua". The Press. 26 March 1977. p. 6.
  3. ↑ "Pahiatua candidate". The Press. 5 April 1977. p. 6.
  4. ↑ Gustafson 1986, p. 371.
  5. ↑ "Falloon named for Pahiatua". The Dominion. 5 April 1977. p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Values Party candidate". The Press. 31 March 1977. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 305.

References

  • Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
  • 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.
  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.


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