The Hamilton by-election 1959 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 in the electorate in

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 ...

in the Waikato during the term of the 32nd New Zealand Parliament, on 2 May 1959.

Background

The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP

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 ...

of the National Party on 6 March 1959. The by-election was won by

Lance Adams-Schneider Sir Lancelot Raymond Adams-Schneider (11 November 1919 – 3 September 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Early life and career Lancelot Raymond Adams-Schneider was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to Arthur A ...

, also of the National Party.

Candidates

;Labour There were two candidates for the Labour Party nomination: *

Iris Martin Jessie Iris Martin (19 December 1898 – 19 July 1982) was a New Zealand nurse, hospital matron, tutor and nurses' association leader. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 19 December 1898. Her father was Lee Martin (politician), Lee M ...

, matron of

Wellington Hospital Wellington Hospital might refer to: * Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Hospital, London The Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom, an ...

and daughter of former Labour cabinet minister Lee Martin *

Ben Waters Edward Arthur "Ben" Waters (13 October 1907 – 30 October 1992) was a New Zealand rower who won two medals at the 1930 British Empire Games. He later unsuccessfully stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate at several elections. Early lif ...

, a member of Labour's national executive and candidate for in , and Labour chose Waters as its candidate. Waters had recently been appointed a trustee of the Waikato Savings Bank. Contesting the seat three times prior, he slightly increased Labour share of the vote from 41.63 to 43.16 percent. ;National There were seven candidates for the National Party nomination: *

, a member of the Taumarunui Borough Council and candidate for in * Dorothy Blomfield, a member of the Hamilton City Council *Victor Allan de Lacey, a Hamilton businessman and a member of several National Party executive committees *A. R. Griffiths, a member of the Hamilton City Council and former chairman of the Hamilton National Party * Francis Dewsbury Pinfold, the chairman of the Hamilton Fire Board and former Mayor of Hamilton *Deena Sergel, a war widow and candidate for in 1957 *Geoffrey Taylor, an Auckland businessman and candidate for in 1957 The local National Party members selected Adams-Schneider as candidate for the seat. ;Social Credit Frederick Charles Roberts, a Hamilton businessman, stood as the candidate for the Social Credit Party. In 1957 he stood for Social Credit in the electorate.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Notes

References

* * Hamilton 1959 1959 elections in New Zealand Politics of Hamilton, New Zealand May 1959 events in New Zealand 20th century in Hamilton, New Zealand {{NewZealand-election-stub