1961 Hurunui by-election

New Zealand by-election

← 1960

10 June 1961 (1961-06-10)

1963 →

Turnout

12,557 (74.13%)


Candidate	Lorrie Pickering	Arthur Adcock
Party	National	Labour
Popular vote	6,644	4,760
Percentage	52.91	37.91

Member before election

William Gillespie
National

Elected Member

Lorrie Pickering
National

The Hurunui by-election 1961 was a by-election held in the Hurunui electorate in North Canterbury during the term of the 33rd New Zealand Parliament, on 10 June 1961.

The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP William Gillespie of the National Party on 23 April 1961.^[1]

Candidates

Labour

The Labour Party selected Arthur Alexander Adcock as its candidate. Adcock, a railway worker, was secretary of the local Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants branch and a member of the Waimairi County Council. He had contested the seat in 1960 against Gillespie.^[2]

National

There were several names put forward as potential nominees for the National Party candidacy:^[3]^[4]

Frederick Ashe, a farmer in Flaxton and Okuku, former member of the Eyre County Council who had contested the National nomination for Kaiapoi in 1938
William Murray Dailey, a farmer at Oxford and chairman of the Oxford County Council
J. A. G. Fulton, a farmer at Loburn and former chairman of the Sefton and districts branch of Federated Farmers
Clutha N. McKenzie, a farmer at Motunau and chairman of Waipara County Council (grandson of Sir Thomas Mackenzie)
Lorrie Pickering, a farmer at Motunau and radio broadcaster who was National's candidate for Avon in 1960
Derek Quigley, a farmer at Waipara who was National's candidate for Sydenham in 1960
W. W. Wood, a land agent and bookshop proprietor at Rangiora who was a committee member of the Rangiora National Party

Ultimately Pickering was chosen to contest the seat.^[5]

Social Credit

The Social Credit Party selected Malcolm Jack Clark, an engineer from Waikari, as its candidate for the seat.^[6]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1961 Hurunui by-election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	National	Lorrie Pickering	6,644	52.91
	Labour	Arthur Adcock	4,760	37.91
	Social Credit	Jack Clark	1,153	9.18
Majority			1,884	15.00
Turnout			12,557	74.13
Registered electors			16,940
	National hold		Swing

The by-election was won by Lorrie Pickering.^[8]

Notes

^ Wilson 1985, p. 199.
^ "Hurunui Seat – Labour Party Candidate". The Press. Vol. C, no. 29511. 12 May 1961. p. 12.
^ "Seven National Nominees For Hurunui". The Press. Vol. C, no. 29513. 13 May 1961. p. 13.
^ "Hurunui Seat – Farmers Seek Nomination". The Press. Vol. C, no. 29499. 28 April 1961. p. 14.
^ "Hurunui Seat – Mr Pickering To Stand". The Press. Vol. C, no. 29515. 17 May 1961. p. 14.
^ "Nominations For Hurunui Seat". The Press. Vol. C, no. 29518. 20 May 1961. p. 12.
^ Norton 1988, p. 250.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 227.

References

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.