29th New Zealand Parliament

The 29th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened in 1950, following the 1949 general election. It was dissolved in 1951 in preparation for the 1951 general election. The governing Labour Party had been defeated in the election by the National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.

29th Parliament of New Zealand
28th Parliament 30th Parliament
Overview
Legislative bodyNew Zealand Parliament
Term27 June 1950 – 31 July 1951
Election1949 New Zealand general election
GovernmentFirst National Government
House of Representatives
Members80
Speaker of the HouseMatthew Oram
Prime MinisterSidney Holland
Leader of the OppositionWalter Nash from 17 January 1951
Peter Fraser until 12 December 1950 †
Legislative Council
Abolished: 1 December 1950
Members54
Speaker of the CouncilThomas Bishop
Leader of the CouncilWilliam Polson
Sovereign
MonarchHM George VI
Governor-GeneralHE Lt. Gen. The Lord Freyberg
Opening of 29th NZ Parliament in 1950, with Serjeant-at-Arms, Group Captain Alexander Manson carrying the mace, followed by Speaker Matthew Oram

Additionally, this Parliament saw the final meeting of the Upper House; the Legislative Council, which was abolished on 1 December 1950, making the New Zealand Parliament a unicameral legislative body.

1949 general election

The 1949 general election was held on Tuesday, 29 November in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 30 November in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 49 represented North Island electorates, 27 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was the same distribution used since the 1946 election.[2] 1,113,852 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 93.5%.[1]

Sessions

The 29th Parliament sat for two sessions, and was prorogued on 18 July 1951.[3]

SessionOpenedAdjourned
first27 June 19501 December 1950
second26 June 195113 July 1951

Ministries

The National Party under Sidney Holland won the 1949 election, defeating Labour's second Fraser Ministry. Holland remained in power until 1957, when he stepped down due to ill health.[4]

Historical context

The National Government appointed 25 new members to the New Zealand Legislative Council (the so-called Suicide Squad), so that the Legislative Council Abolition Bill could be passed. With that legislation, the Legislative Council voted itself out of existence, and New Zealand has been unicameral since the last meeting of the Upper House on 1 December 1950.[5]

Members

Overview

The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1949 election and at dissolution:

Affiliation Members
At 1949 election At dissolution
National Government 46 46
Labour Opposition 34 34
Total
80 80
Working Government majority 12 12

Notes

  • The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.

Initial MPs

The table below shows the results of the 1949 general election:

Key

 Labour    National  

Electorate results for the 1949 New Zealand general election[6]
ElectorateIncumbentWinnerMajorityRunner up
General electorates
Arch Hill Bill Parry 5,174 Gordon Frederick Smith
Ashburton Geoff Gerard 2,385 William Erle Rose
Auckland Central Bill Anderton 2,799 Leonard Bradley
Avon John Mathison 4,593 G W Kinzett
Awarua George Richard Herron 3,179 Neville Pickering[7]
Bay of Plenty Bill Sullivan 3,680 Thomas Godfrey Santon
Brooklyn Peter Fraser[8] 2,956 Berta Burns[9]
Buller Jerry Skinner 2,206 Phil McDonald
Central Otago William Bodkin 3,906 Thomas Augustus Rodgers
Christchurch Central Robert Macfarlane 3,637 Kevin Marlow
Clutha James Roy 3,231 John Edward Keenan
Dunedin Central Phil Connolly 989 David Murdoch
Dunedin North Robert Walls 668 Richard Brickell
Eden Wilfred Fortune 2,259 Pat Curran
Egmont Ernest Corbett 4,539 Brian Edgar Richmond
Fendalton Sidney Holland 4,076 Robert Newman
Franklin Jack Massey 5,481 John Parsons
Gisborne David Coleman Reginald Keeling 489 Harry Dudfield[10][11]
Grey Lynn Fred Hackett 4,203 John Leon Faulkner[12]
Hamilton Hilda Ross 1,605 John Granville
Hastings Ted Cullen Sydney Jones 982 Ted Cullen
Hauraki Andrew Sutherland 3,944 Percival Peacock
Hawke's Bay Cyril Harker 3,442 Dick Beattie
Hobson Sidney Walter Smith 5,068 William Edmund Lane
Hurunui William Gillespie 2,535 Arthur J. Smith
Hutt Walter Nash 2,273 Horace Leonard Heatley
Invercargill Ralph Hanan 1,159 William Denham
Island Bay Robert McKeen 2,770 Herbert Edward Childs
Karori Charles Bowden 3,585 Ethel Harris
Lyttelton Terry McCombs 978 Richard Ralph Beauchamp
Manawatu Matthew Oram 3,433 Basil A. Rodgers
Marlborough Tom Shand 1,862 J H Wilson
Marsden Alfred Murdoch 3,276 Douglas L. Ross
Miramar Bob Semple 1,315 Cuthbert Taylor
Mornington Wally Hudson 4,185 Geoffrey Stephens
Mount Albert Warren Freer 931 Reg Judson
Mount Victoria Jack Marshall 1,808 Nathan Seddon
Napier Tommy Armstrong 721 William Tucker
Nelson Edgar Neale 1,373 R C A Marshall
New Plymouth Ernest Aderman 1,517 Clarence Robert Parker
North Shore Martyn Finlay Dean Eyre 1,344 Martyn Finlay
Oamaru Arnold Nordmeyer Thomas Hayman 694 Arnold Nordmeyer
Onehunga Arthur Osborne 2,300 Alan A. Coates
Onslow Harry Combs 1,927 John S. Meadowcroft[13]
Otahuhu Charles Petrie Leon Götz 1,275 Alex Dixon
Otaki Jimmy Maher 374 Denzil Capstick
Pahiatua Keith Holyoake 4,507 G P O'Leary
Palmerston North Ormond Wilson Blair Tennent 518 Ormond Wilson
Parnell Duncan Rae 960 Bill Schramm
Patea William Sheat 1,841 Frederick William Finer
Petone Mick Moohan 2,527 Norm Croft
Piako Stan Goosman 6,266 Gilbert Parsons Kenah
Ponsonby Ritchie Macdonald 2,278 Brian Kingston
Raglan Alan Baxter Hallyburton Johnstone 1,022 Alan Baxter
Rangitikei Edward Gordon 3,310 E R De Malmanche
Remuera Ronald Algie 5,079 Hugh Watt[14][6]
Riccarton Angus McLagan 2,707 Harry Lake[15]
Rodney Clifton Webb 4,546 Arthur Leaming
Roskill Frank Langstone John Rae 1,415 James Freeman
St Albans Jack Watts 1,142 George Manning[16]
St Kilda Fred Jones 331 Gerald Lyon
Selwyn John McAlpine 1,327 Alan Sharp
Sydenham Mabel Howard 5,643 Oliver G. Moody[13]
Tamaki Tom Skinner Eric Halstead 1,095 Tom Skinner
Tauranga Frederick Doidge 4,595 Hillary Joseph Pickett
Timaru Clyde Carr 832 Jack Lockington
Waikato Geoffrey Sim 5,923 John Ronald Burfitt
Waimarino Paddy Kearins 202 Arthur Herbert MacPherson
Waimate David Campbell Kidd 1,767 Roy Davison
Wairarapa Garnet Mackley Bert Cooksley 963 George Anders Hansen
Waitakere Rex Mason 930 Robert Tapper
Waitomo Walter Broadfoot 5,079 Frank Kitts
Wallace Tom Macdonald 4,511 Herman Victor Freeman
Wanganui Joe Cotterill 1,019 E V O'Keefe
Wellington Central Charles Henry Chapman 575 Will Appleton
Westland Jim Kent 2,744 Patrick Joseph O'Regan
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori Tiaki Omana 3,211 Turi Carroll
Northern Maori Tapihana Paraire Paikea 2,029 James Henare
Southern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 687 Huro Nathanial Bates
Western Maori vacant[nb 1] Iriaka Rātana 6,317 Hoeroa Marumaru

Table footnotes:

  1. Matiu Ratana, the previous holder of the Western Maori electorate, died on 7 October 1949. His wife Iriaka Rātana stood for election instead.

By-elections during 29th Parliament

There was one by-election during the term of the 29th Parliament.

Electorate and by-electionDateIncumbentCauseWinner
Brooklyn 1951 17 February Peter Fraser Death Arnold Nordmeyer

Notes

  1. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  2. Wilson 1985, p. 173.
  3. Wilson 1985, p. 141.
  4. Wilson 1985, pp. 86–87.
  5. "Sound: the end of the Legislative Council". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  6. "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  7. Norton 1988, p. 197.
  8. Wilson 1985, p. 198.
  9. Gustafson 1986, p. 357.
  10. Norton 1988, p. 228.
  11. Gustafson 1986, p. 308.
  12. Norton 1988, p. 419.
  13. Gustafson 1986, p. 378.
  14. Norton 1988, p. 331.
  15. Gustafson 1986, p. 325.
  16. Sharfe, Jean. "Manning, George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 17 February 2010.

References

  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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