1974 Sydenham by-election

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The Sydenham by-election 1974 was a by-election held in the Sydenham electorate during the term of the 37th New Zealand Parliament on 2 November 1974. The National Party decided not to stand a candidate, although sometime National candidate A S (Saul) Goldsmith from Wellington stood as an Independent National candidate.

The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Norman Kirk of the Labour Party, who at the time was Prime Minister, on 31 August 1974.[1][2]

The by-election was won by John Kirk, Norman Kirk's son.[2] It was New Zealand's first parliamentary election where a voting age of 18 years applied.[3]

In 1974 Gerald O'Brien the party vice-president was on the panel to choose the successor to Norman Kirk in Sydenham. Initially the three electorate representatives wanted John Kirk and the three head office nominees wanted the party secretary John Wybrow. O'Brien switched his vote to John Kirk, who got the nod.[4] Kirk had talked to Warren Freer very frankly about his family, and made it quite clear that if any of his sons wished to have a political career, he hoped it would be Robert or Philip, but not John.[5]

Sydenham by-election, 1974 [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Kirk 6,664 62.9
Social Credit J E Poundsford 1,778 16.8
Values A Lea 685 6.5
Independent National Abraham Saul Goldsmith 684 6.4
Independent D J Crawford 321 3.0
Christian Independent T C Fouhy 274 2.6
Socialist Action Ms V K Goodger 181 1.7
Progressive Kiwi D K Mitchell 13 1.7
Majority 4,886 46.1
Informal votes 101
Turnout 10,600 51.9
Registered electors 20,428
Labour hold Swing

References

  1. ^ Bassett, Michael. "Kirk, Norman Eric". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 211. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ William Keith Jackson; Alan McRobie (2005). "Chronology". Historical dictionary of New Zealand (PDF) (second ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. xliv. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  4. ^ Grant, David (2014). The Mighty Totara: The life and times of Norman Kirk (p420). Auckland: Random House. ISBN 9781775535799. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  5. ^ Freer, Warren W (2004). A Lifetime in Politics: the memoirs of Warren Freer. Wellington: Victoria University Press. pp. 185, 202. ISBN 0-86473-478-6.
  6. ^ Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. 351. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
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