1962 Timaru by-election

New Zealand by-election

← 1960 general

21 July 1962 (1962-07-21)

1963 general →

Turnout

14,455 (83.79%)


Candidate	Sir Basil Arthur	Derek Quigley
Party	Labour	National
Popular vote	7,578	6,271
Percentage	52.55	43.49

Member before election

Clyde Carr
Labour

Elected Member

Sir Basil Arthur
Labour

The Timaru by-election 1962 was a by-election held in the Timaru electorate in Canterbury during the term of the 33rd New Zealand Parliament, on 21 July 1962.

Background

The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Rev Clyde Carr of the Labour Party on 31 May 1962.^[1] Carr, who died on 18 September, had often been opposed to the party leaders.^[2]

Candidates

Labour

There were several names put forward for the Labour Party candidacy:^[3]

Sir Basil Arthur, Labour's candidate for Hamilton in 1960 and the recent Waitaki by-election
Neville Pickering, the former MP for St Albans
Gordon Ray, the President of the Timaru Labour Representations Committee
Patrick Herman Weith, the President of the South Island Waterside Workers' Federation

Arthur was chosen after winning a ballot at a meeting of local party members.^[4]

National

Five people sought the National Party candidature, only one of whom was actually living in Timaru.^[5]

Norman Stanley Brown, a farmer of Pleasant Point and past president of the Waimate branch of Federated Farmers who was a nominee for the National nomination at the recent Waitaki by-election
Thomas Graham Scarf, a manufacturer from Waikanae
Derek Quigley, a farmer at Waipara who was National's candidate for Sydenham in 1960
Maurice John O'Reilly, an insurance agent and law student at Otago University
Pearl Savin, the women's editor of the Timaru Herald

Quigley was chosen as the National candidate after winning a ballot at a meeting of local party members.^[6]

Social Credit

The Social Credit Party chose Maurice John Hayes as their candidate.

Result

Within the town of Timaru, there were polling booths in Caroline Bay, Church Street, Church Street West, College Road, Elizabeth Street, Evans Street, Grants Road, Grey Road, Courthouse, Kensington Methodist Hall, Watlington Sunday School, Queen Street, Seddon Street, Selwyn Street, Trafalgar Street, Wai-iti Road, and Woodlands Street. Outside of Timaru, there were polling booths in Claremont, Fairview, Gleniti, Kerrytown, Kingsdown, Levels, Otipua, Pareora, Rosewill, Salisbury, Seadown, and Washdyke.^[a]^[7]

The by-election was won by Sir Basil Arthur, also of the Labour Party.^[8] Even on the provisional result, with over 1,400 special votes yet to be counted published on 22 July (the day after polling day), it was clear that Arthur had won by a considerable margin. Overseas votes were allowed to be received until 31 July by the returning officer, P. W. J. Cockerill.^[9] There were 1206 special and overseas votes that were allowed, and 192 special and overseas votes that were disallowed.^[10]

1962 Timaru by-election^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sir Basil Arthur	7,578	52.55
	National	Derek Quigley	6,271	43.49
	Social Credit	Maurice Hayes	572	3.97
Majority			1,307	9.06
Informal votes			34	0.24
Turnout			14,455	83.79	-7.62
Registered electors			17,252
	Labour hold		Swing

Footnotes

^ Some of the places listed as outside of Timaru are today regarded as suburbs of the town.

Notes

^ Wilson 1985, p. 188.
^ Brown, Colin. "Carr, Clyde Leonard". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
^ "Timaru Seat - Labour Panel Meets Today". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29844. 9 June 1962. p. 12.
^ "Baronet To Fight Timaru By-Election". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29845. 11 June 1962. p. 8.
^ "Timaru Seat - Five National Nominees". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29849. 15 June 1962. p. 8.
^ "Timaru Seat - Mr D. Quigley For National". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29853. 20 June 1962. p. 14.
^ "Details of voting". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29881. 23 July 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 181.
^ "Timaru seat retained by Labour Party". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29881. 23 July 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ "Labour in Timaru". The Press. Vol. CI, no. 29890. 2 August 1962. p. 12. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Norton 1988, p. 362.

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.