The Pahiatua by-election of 1977 was a by-election for the electorate of

Pahiatua , image_skyline = Market day pahiatua 1st dec 2007 1.JPG , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shi ...

on 30 April 1977 during the

38th New Zealand Parliament The 38th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1975 general election on 29 November of that year. 1975 general election The 1975 general election was held on Saturday, 29 November. A total of ...

Background

The by-election resulted from the resignation of the previous member Sir

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

when he was appointed Governor-General.

Candidates

;Labour The Labour Party had seven candidates including: * Trevor de Cleene, a

Palmerston North City Council Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

lor and Labour's candidate for Pahiatua in *Dr Alan Levatt, a sociology lecturer at Victoria University *Paul Thornicroft, Labour's candidate for Pahiatua in Levatt, who earned his Ph.D. from

Michigan University , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and had previously lectured in American universities, was selected as the candidate. ;National Five candidates were shortlisted for the National nomination. *Graham Percy Adam, a company director and former Mayor of Eketahuna *Garth Cassidy, a managing director from

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. ...

and member of the Hawkes Bay Harbour Board *

John Falloon John Howard Falloon (17 February 1942 – 4 October 2005) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1977 to 1996, representing the National Party in the Pahiatua electorate. Early life and family Falloon was born in Masterton on 17 Fe ...

, a farmer from Masterton and the meat and wool chairman for the Wairarapa branch of

Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for all farmers: arable including fruit and vegetables, dairy and meat and their often remote communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. F ...

*Hamish Kynoch, a farmer from Ashley Clinton and runner-up for Young Farmer of the Year in 1972 *Weston Macpherson, a farmer and chairman of the

Norsewood Norsewood is a small rural settlement in the Tararua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is situated east of the Ruahine Mountain range and is located 20 kilometres northeast of Dannevirke. Geography T ...

branch of Federated Farmers. At a selection meeting in the Pahiatua Town Hall four ballots were taken of National members. Kynoch was initially the frontrunner to win the nomination and lead the voting until the final ballot which selected Falloon as the candidate. ;Values The

Values Party The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellingto ...

selected Peter McHugh as its candidate. McHugh, a secondary school from

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, had stood as the Values candidate for Pahiatua in .

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Notes

References

* * * By-elections in New Zealand 1977 elections in New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui April 1977 events in New Zealand {{NewZealand-election-stub