The Fendalton by-election of 1967 was a by-election for the electorate of

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated from Y ...

on 15 April 1967 during the

35th New Zealand Parliament The 35th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1966 general election on 26 November of that year. 1966 general election The 1966 general election was held on Saturday, 26 November. A total of ...

. It was held the same day as another by-election in Petone.

Background

The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member the Hon

Harry Lake Harry Robson Lake (29 September 1911 – 21 February 1967) was a New Zealand politician who served as Minister of Finance for six years in the second National government in the 1960s. He died of a heart attack when only 55 years old. Biograph ...

on 21 February 1967; Lake had been Minister of Finance since 1960, a rapid rise to an important ministerial post. He died suddenly of a heart attack aged 55 years.

Candidates

;Labour There were two candidates for the Labour Party nomination. * Bruce Barclay, a member of the

Lyttelton Harbour Board The Lyttelton Harbour Board was established on 10 January 1877 to manage Lyttelton Harbour. The harbour had previously been managed by the Canterbury Provincial Council, but provincial government ceased to exist on 1 January 1877. The harbour boa ...

who was Labour's Fendalton candidate in and *Brian Brooks, a union secretary and industrial law lecturer at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

Barclay was selected. He had contested Fendalton for Labour at both of the previous two general elections. His father Jim Barclay was a Labour MP from 1935 to 1943 and his cousin

Ron Barclay Ronald Morrison Barclay (2 September 1914 – 29 April 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Early life and family Born in Little River, New Zealand in 1914, he received his education at the Christchurch Technical College. ...

had been elected MP for in 1966. ;National There were four nominees for the National Party candidacy. *Joseph Richard "Dick" Dawson, A doctor who was National's candidate for in *Tom Flint, a former

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

lor who contested in and in *Helen Garrett, a Citizens' Association candidate for the Christchurch City Council in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and National's candidate for in 1966 * Eric Holland, past chairman of the Fendalton Electorate Committee and deputy-chairman National's Canterbury-Westland division Holland was chosen as the National Party's candidate after winning a ballot of 180 party members from the electorate. His father

Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation o ...

had previously represented Fendalton from 1946 until 1957 and was Prime Minister from 1949 to 1957 when he retired. ;Social Credit The Social Credit Party selected Joseph John Forster, an employee at the North Canterbury Hospital Board, as its candidate. Forster had contested Fendalton for Social Credit at the 1960 and 1966 elections. ;Others The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

also contemplated standing a candidate, though the party executive ultimately decided against it.

Results

The following table gives the election results: The by-election was won by Eric Holland, also of the National Party. Holland was the son of former prime minister

. Despite being a safe National seat, the election night results had a 67-vote majority to Labour's candidate Bruce Barclay, the shock result prompted Leader of the Opposition

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

to declare that National had lost its mandate to govern. However after 1,300 special votes were counted National did manage to hold the seat by just 286 votes a swing of over 5% to Labour.

Notes

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fendalton by-election, 1967 Fendalton 1967 1967 elections in New Zealand Politics of Christchurch 1960s in Christchurch April 1967 events in New Zealand