The 1911 Christchurch North 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 ...

during the

17th New Zealand Parliament The 17th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1908 general election in November and December of that year. 1908 general election The Second Ballot Act 1908 was used for the 1908 general elect ...

held on 17 August that year in the electorate. It was triggered by the death of sitting member

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

on 27 July and was won by his close friend and political ally, Leonard Isitt.

Background

Taylor had come to national prominence over

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

even before he was first elected to parliament in the . A radical politician, he was interested in a variety of labour and liberal issues, but was a staunch opponent of

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...

and always maintained his independence, going as far as refusing company ownership or joining

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. On a personal level, he was deeply popular with the population, and when he died aged 49 only months after having been elected

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

, 50,000 people lined the streets during his funeral procession.

Candidates and campaign

At the time, Taylor had been one of New Zealand's most colourful politicians. Naturally, when it came to discussions around his succession in the Christchurch North electorate, a focus was on people who could advance some of the causes that had been important to Taylor. The two politicians mentioned in this context were Leonard Isitt and

James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...

. The next general election was not too far away and McCombs had already committed himself to contest

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...

, and he thus declined. He also stated that he was too busy during the by-election campaign period, as he had committed himself to organise the Taylor memorial fund, for which he was secretary. Isitt accepted the nomination. Also a prohibitionist and a close friend of Taylor's, Isitt was at his bedside when he died. Labour interests did not stand a candidate against Isitt out of respect for Taylor. The conservative candidate was Dryden Hall, the second son of a former premier,

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

Results

The following table gives the election results: Commentators attributed the win of successful candidate Leonard Isitt to floods of sympathy votes. Isitt held the Christchurch North electorate until he retired at the . Hall contested the Christchurch North electorate in the 1911 general election a few months after the by-election, but was beaten by Isitt in the second ballot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christchurch North by-election, 1911 Christchurch North 1911 1911 elections in New Zealand 1910s in Christchurch Politics of Christchurch