1931 New Zealand general election
1931 New Zealand general election Turnout 714,511 (83.3%)
Results of the election.
The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament 's 24th term . It resulted in the newly formed coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party remaining in office as the United–Reform Coalition Government , although the opposition Labour Party made some minor gains despite tallying more votes than any other single party.
Background
In the 1928 election , the Reform Party won 28 seats to the United Party 's 27 seats. Shortly after the election the Reform Party lost a vote of no-confidence and the United Party managed to form a government, the United Government , with the support of the Labour Party , with governing Reform Party going into the opposition. In 1931, however, the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression . The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split.
The election
The date for the main 1931 elections was 2 December, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Māori electorates were held the day before. 874,787 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 83.3%. This turnout was below average for the time period.
The number of seats was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.[ 1] However, in four electorates (Bay of Plenty , Oroua , Pahiatua , Waitomo ) there was only one candidate.
Results
Crowd on intersection of Willis and Mercer Streets in Wellington , outside the offices of The Evening Post , awaiting the results of the 1931 general election.
The 1931 election saw the recently formed governing coalition retain office as the United–Reform Coalition , winning fifty-one seats, including four independents . This was a drop of four seats from what the two parties had won in the previous elections, but was still considerably better than many had expected given the economic situation. The Labour Party won twenty-four seats, a gain of five. In the popular vote (including pro-coalition independents), the coalition won 54.0% of the vote, down from the 66.1% that the two parties had won previously. Labour won 34.3%. The only other party to gain a place in Parliament was the Country Party , which won a single seat. Four other independents were elected. Four candidates were elected unopposed: Walter Broadfoot in Waitomo , John Cobbe in Oroua , Alfred Ransom in Pahiatua , and Kenneth Williams in Bay of Plenty .[ 4]
Party totals
Winning party by electorate.
Votes summary
Popular Vote
All Coalition Parties
54.03%
Labour
34.27%
Coalition Reform
26.60%
Coalition United
16.90%
Country Party
2.34%
Coalition Independent
10.53%
Independent
9.36%
Parliament seats
All Coalition Parties
63.75%
Coalition Reform
35.00%
Labour
30.00%
Coalition United
23.75%
Country Party
1.25%
Coalition Independent
5.00%
Independent
5.00%
The following table shows the detailed results:
Key
Reform
Labour
United
Country Party
Independent Liberal
Ratana
Independent
Electorate results for the 1931 New Zealand general election
Electorate
Incumbent
Winner
Majority
Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central
Bill Parry
3,793[ 7]
Harold Penfound Congdon
Auckland East
James Donald
Bill Schramm
2,256[ 8]
Harold Percy Burton
Auckland Suburbs
Rex Mason
1,223
Richard Herbert Marryatt[ 9]
Auckland West
Michael Joseph Savage
4,517
Hugh Ross Mackenzie[ 9]
Avon
Dan Sullivan
3,039
Harben Robert Young
Awarua
Philip De La Perrelle
2,148
Norman McIntyre[ 10]
Bay of Islands
Harold Rushworth
1,209
Allen Bell
Bay of Plenty
Kenneth Williams
Uncontested
Buller
Harry Holland
3,631
John Menzies [ 11]
Central Otago
William Bodkin
2,516
Charles Todd
Chalmers
Alfred Ansell
172
Norman Hartley Campbell
Christchurch East
Tim Armstrong
3,206
George Frederick Allen
Christchurch North
Henry Holland
2,077
Elizabeth McCombs
Christchurch South
Ted Howard
2,798[ 12]
Charlie McCully[ 13]
Clutha
Fred Waite
Peter McSkimming
1,530
Fred Waite
Dunedin Central
Charles Statham
262
Peter Neilson
Dunedin North
Jim Munro
524
John McCrae[ 14] [ 15]
Dunedin South
William Taverner
Fred Jones
3,644
William Taverner
Dunedin West
William Downie Stewart Jr
924
John Gilchrist
Eden
Arthur Stallworthy
1,270[ 12]
Bill Anderton
Egmont
Charles Wilkinson
1,308
F. Gawith
Franklin
Jack Massey
2,457
Harry Oswald Mellsop[ 16]
Gisborne
Douglas Lysnar
David Coleman
317[ 12]
Douglas Lysnar
Grey Lynn
John Fletcher
John A. Lee
3,242[ 7]
John Fletcher
Hamilton
Alexander Young
3,072[ 17]
Hubert Beebe
Hauraki
Walter William Massey
2,750[ 7]
Charles Robert Petrie
Hawke's Bay
Hugh Campbell
2,259
Ted Cullen [ 18]
Hurunui
George Forbes
3,953
R. J. Logan[ 19]
Hutt
Walter Nash
2,823
James Kerr[ nb 1]
Invercargill
Vincent Ward
James Hargest
508
William McChesney
Kaiapoi
Richard Hawke
1,414
John Archer [ 20]
Kaipara
Gordon Coates
2,084
Albert Edward Robinson[ 21]
Lyttelton
James McCombs
32
Frederick Willie Freeman[ 22]
Manawatu
Joseph Linklater
2,246
Lorrie Hunter
Manukau
Bill Jordan
3,394[ 12]
Stanley Rickards[ 9]
Marsden
Alfred Murdoch
2,942
Jim Barclay
Masterton
George Sykes
1,951
Peter Butler
Mataura
David McDougall
943
Thomas Golden[ 23]
Mid-Canterbury
David Jones
Jeremiah Connolly
136[ 24]
David Jones
Motueka
George Black
517
Keith Holyoake
Napier
Bill Barnard
1,456
John Butler
Nelson
Harry Atmore
100
Herbert Everett[ 25]
New Plymouth
Sydney George Smith
3,472
William Sheat
Oamaru
John Andrew MacPherson
1,046[ 12]
John Kirkness
Oroua
John Cobbe
Uncontested
Otaki
William Hughes Field
1,321
Jim Thorn
Pahiatua
Alfred Ransom
Uncontested
Palmerston
Jimmy Nash
1,245
Joe Hodgens
Parnell
Bill Endean
4,821[ 7]
John William Yarnall
Patea
Harold Dickie
3,495
W. G. Simpson
Raglan
Lee Martin
Stewart Reid
806
Lee Martin
Rangitikei
James Thomas Hogan
Alexander Stuart
15
James Thomas Hogan
Riccarton
Bert Kyle
589
Archibald Albany McLachlan[ nb 2]
Roskill
George Munns
Arthur Shapton Richards
171[ 7]
William John Holdsworth[ 26]
Rotorua
Cecil Clinkard
57
Alexander Moncur
Stratford
William Polson
1,518
J W McMillan[ nb 3]
Tauranga
Charles Macmillan
658
Bill Sullivan [ nb 4]
Temuka
Thomas Burnett
1,237
Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames
Albert Samuel
464
John Sommerville Montgomerie[ 28]
Timaru
Clyde Carr
820
Herbert N. Armstrong[ 29] [ nb 5]
Waikato
Frederick Lye
981
Solomon Netheim Ziman[ nb 6]
Waimarino
Frank Langstone
591
William Henry Wackrow
Waipawa
Albert Jull [ nb 7]
386
John Davies Ormond, Jr.[ nb 8]
Wairarapa
Thomas McDonald
Alex McLeod
616
Thomas McDonald
Wairau
Edward Healy
1,424
William Girling
Waitaki
John Bitchener
885
Alexander McLean Paterson[ 31]
Waitemata
Alexander Harris
2,378[ 7]
Arthur Osborne [ 32]
Waitomo
Walter Broadfoot
Uncontested
Wallace
Adam Hamilton
2,842
Peter Gilfedder[ 33]
Wanganui
Bill Veitch
590
Bill Rogers
Wellington Central
Peter Fraser
2,471[ 34]
Robert Darroch
Wellington East
Bob Semple
593[ 34]
Thomas Forsyth
Wellington North
Charles Chapman
1,061[ 34]
George Troup
Wellington South
Robert McKeen
2,659
Will Appleton [ 35]
Wellington Suburbs
Robert Wright
2,570[ 34]
Tom Brindle
Westland
James O'Brien
1,121
John Greenslade
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori
Āpirana Ngata
3,211
Pita Moko
Northern Maori
Taurekareka Henare
1,188
Paraire Karaka Paikea
Southern Maori
Tuiti Makitanara
19
Eruera Tirikatene
Western Maori
Taite Te Tomo
1,436
Toko Ratana
Table footnotes:
Four of the eight independent MPs (Connolly, Hargest, McSkimming, and Polson) were aligned with the United–Reform Coalition, and are not classified as independents by some sources.
Notes
^ "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout" . Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011 .
^ "Nominations Close" . Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 123. 20 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 3 August 2013 .
^ a b c d e f "Election Counts" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 291. 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 October 2014 .
^ "Recount of Votes" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 289. 7 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 31 October 2014 .
^ a b c "Parliamentary Elections" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 275. 20 November 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2014 .
^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 4" . Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser . Vol. LV, no. 5636. 1 December 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 8 November 2014 .
^ "Buller Electorate" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 127. 25 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2014 .
^ a b c d e "Election Results" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 290. 8 December 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2014 .
^ "Straight Grained" . New Zealand Truth . No. 1197. 8 November 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014 .
^ "John McCrae" . Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 9 July 2022 – via Online Cenotaph.
^ "Dunedin North" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 264. 7 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2014 .
^ "Electoral" . The New Zealand Herald . Vol. LXVIII, no. 21053. 11 December 1931. p. 22. Retrieved 15 November 2014 .
^ "Electors' Choice" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 286. 3 December 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 1 November 2014 .
^ "A Coalition Certainty" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2014 .
^ "In Canterbury" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 281. 27 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 16 November 2014 .
^ Gustafson, Barry . "Archer, John Kendrick" . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 8 April 2011 .
^ "Notice of Nominations received and Polling Places appointed" . Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette . 25 November 1931. p. 7. Retrieved 21 November 2014 .
^ "Notice of Nominations Received and Polling Places Appointed" . Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser . Vol. LV, no. 5634. 24 November 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2014 .
^ "Mr McDougall Opposed" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 120. 17 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014 .
^ "Public Notices" . Ellesmere Guardian . Vol. LII, no. 99. 11 December 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 24 November 2013 .
^ "Opposing Mr Atmore" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 110. 5 November 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2014 .
^ "Electoral" . The New Zealand Herald . Vol. LXVIII, no. 21051. 9 December 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2014 .
^ "Stratford Electorate" . The New Zealand Herald . Vol. LXVIII, no. 21029. 13 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 6 December 2014 .
^ "Reform Triumph" . The Northern Advocate . 18 June 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2014 .
^ Kerr, Stephen (2003). "Good Old Clyde": Clyde Carr M.P., Timaru and the Art of Incumbency, 1928–1962 (PDF) (Thesis). University of Canterbury . p. 66. Retrieved 16 December 2014 .
^ "Ziman, John Michael" (PDF) . Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2014 .
^ Facer, Wayne Arthur Pickard (2012). "In New Zealand: Timaru 1923–1925". William Jellie: Unitarian, Scholar and Educator (PDF) (M.Phil.). Massey University . Retrieved 14 March 2015 .
^ "Parliamentary Elections" . Auckland Star . Vol. LXII, no. 275. 20 November 1931. Retrieved 29 October 2014 .
^ "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wallace" . Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle . Vol. XXVII, no. 1349. 15 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2015 .
^ a b c d "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington Suburbs" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 140. 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014 .
^ "Coalition Selection" . The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 117. 13 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 17 March 2015 .
References
Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911-1931 . Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1 .
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand . Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8 .
Skinner, W. A. G. (1932). The General Election, 1931 . Government Printer. Retrieved 2 November 2014 .
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103 .