The 1945 Hamilton by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held during the

27th New Zealand Parliament The 27th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1943 general election in September of that year. 1943 general election The 1943 general election was held on Friday, 24 September in the Māori el ...

in the Waikato electorate of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. The by-election occurred following the death of MP

Frank Findlay Frank Findlay (1884 – 31 March 1945) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Findlay was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1884. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1902. In his younger days, he was a successful athlete, including the ...

and was won by

Hilda Ross Dame Grace Hilda Cuthbertha Ross (née Nixon; 6 July 1883 – 6 March 1959), known as Hilda Ross, was a New Zealand politician for the National Party and an activist. Early years Nixon was born at Auckland to Adam (a fireman who later became ...

, both of the National Party.

Background

Findlay, who was first elected to represent Hamilton in 1943, died on 31 March 1945. This triggered the Hamilton by-election, which was contested by four candidates.

contested the election for the National Party. She had served as a member of the Hospital Board and

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

in Hamilton for several years and was at the time of the election the Deputy-Mayor. Former Hamilton MP

Charles Barrell Charles "Charlie" Abraham Barrell (2 September 1880 – 14 January 1958) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Barrell was born in Rangiora in 1880. He became a farmer but later found employment wit ...

was selected as the Labour Party's nominee. He had been MP for Hamilton between 1935 and 1943, before losing his seat to Findlay. Leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP),

John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...

was his party's candidate. Lee had lost his seat of in 1943 following his split with the Labour Party in 1940 and contested the Hamilton seat in an attempt to re-enter Parliament, where the DLP no longer had any presence. The fourth person to put their name forward was independent candidate Douglas Seymour. The by-election was held soon after VE Day (which

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...

decided should be celebrated on 9 not 8 May), and a "badly-timed" gazette notice calling up more 18-year-olds for unspecified military service. The National Party proposed that New Zealand troops should be withdrawn from Italy and New Zealand's role in the Pacific restricted to food supply. The Australian High Commissioner

Thomas d'Alton Thomas George De Largie d'Alton (8 December 1895 – 7 May 1968) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was born in Warracknabeal in Victoria. In 1931 d'Alton was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor member for Darw ...

was not the only one to see the irony that Labour wanted to keep New Zealand troops overseas (to have a say in the peace) while National wanted to withdraw them. The government candidate lost by an increased margin.

Previous election

Table footnotes:

Results

The following table gives the election results: Ross won the election, and would win every subsequent general election until 1959, when she died in office. Her death caused the 1959 Hamilton by-election.

Notes

References

* * * {{1939–1995 New Zealand by-elections 1945 elections in New Zealand Hamil Politics of Hamilton, New Zealand May 1945 events in New Zealand

Background

Previous election

Results

See also

Notes

References