# 27th New Zealand Parliament

The 27th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1943 general election in September of that year.

## 1943 general election

The 1943 general election was held on Friday, 24 September in the Māori electorates and on Saturday, 25 September in the general electorates, respectively. A total of 80 MPs were elected; 48 represented North Island electorates, 28 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 1,021,034 civilian voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 82.8%. In addition, 92,934 military votes were cast.

## Sessions

The 27th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 4 November 1946. The twenty-seventh parliament absent-mindedly increased its own life in 1946 when it was forgotten that because of the 24 to 25 September election in 1943 its three years of life ended on 11 October. The House convened to conclude the session on the subsequent day, but no business was conducted. It remained undissolved until 4 November 1946. for election on 26 and 27 November.
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
| first | 22 February 1944 | 15 December 1944 |
| second | 27 June 1945 | 7 December 1945 |
| third | 26 June 1946 | 12 October 1946 |

## Ministries

Peter Fraser of the Labour Party had been Prime Minister since 27 March 1940. He had formed the first Fraser Ministry on 1 April 1940 and the second Fraser Ministry on 30 April 1940. The second Fraser Ministry remained in power until its defeat by the National Party at the 1949 election.
A War Cabinet had been formed on 16 July 1940, which held the responsibility for all decisions relating to New Zealand's involvement in World War II. The War Cabinet was dissolved on 21 August 1945.

## Party standings
### Start of Parliament

| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start |
| Labour Party | Peter Fraser | 45 |
| National Party | Sidney Holland | 34 |
| Independents | Independents | 1 |

### End of Parliament

| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end |
| Labour Party | Peter Fraser | 44 |
| National Party | Sidney Holland | 35 |
| Independents | Independents | 1 |

## Members
### Initial MPs

The table below shows the results of the 1943 general election:
Key
Labour  National  Democratic Labour  Real Democracy  Independent
Electorate results for the 1943 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Auckland Central | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 4,769 | | William George Stanley Swabey |
| Auckland East | Bill Schramm | Bill Schramm | Bill Schramm | 962 | | Harry Tom Merritt |
| Auckland Suburbs | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 3,028 | | Thomas Augustus Bishop |
| Auckland West | Peter Carr | Peter Carr | Peter Carr | 5,402 | | John W. Kealy |
| Avon | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | 4,460 | | James Neil Clarke |
| Awarua | James Hargest | James Hargest | James Hargest | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Bay of Islands | Charles Boswell | | Sidney Walter Smith | 1,276 | | Charles Boswell |
| Bay of Plenty | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | 1,679 | | Walter William Jonasen |
| Buller | Paddy Webb | Paddy Webb | Paddy Webb | 4,635 | | Edward William Nicolaus |
| Central Otago | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | 2,723 | | James McIndoe Mackay |
| Christchurch East | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 5,537 | | Reginald Gilbert Brown |
| Christchurch North | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | 2,645 | | George Manning |
| Christchurch South | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 4,416 | | Ron Guthrey |
| Clutha | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 1,587 | | Herbert Kerr Edie |
| Dunedin Central | Peter Nielson | Peter Nielson | Peter Nielson | 2,155 | | Leonard James Tobin Ireland |
| Dunedin North | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | 2,798 | | Alexander Cassie |
| Dunedin South | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | 3,061 | | David Murdoch |
| Dunedin West | Gervan McMillan | | Phil Connolly | 1,338 | | Alexander Smith Falconer |
| Eden | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 14 | | Wilfred Fortune |
| Egmont | Charles Wilkinson | | Ernest Corbett | 2,422 | | Edwin Thoms Cox |
| Franklin | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | 3,285 | | Aaron Best |
| Gisborne | David Coleman | David Coleman | David Coleman | 572 | | Harry Barker |
| Grey Lynn | John A. Lee | | Fred Hackett | 6,059 | | John A. Lee |
| Hamilton | Charles Barrell | | Frank Findlay | 454 | | Charles Barrell |
| Hauraki | Andy Sutherland | Andy Sutherland | Andy Sutherland | 2,723 | | Edmund Colin Nigel Robinson |
| Hawke's Bay | Ted Cullen | Ted Cullen | Ted Cullen | 1,636 | | Eric N. Pryor |
| Hurunui | George Forbes | | William Gillespie | 1,566 | | James William Morgan |
| Hutt | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 5,260 | | John H. Hogan |
| Invercargill | William Denham | William Denham | William Denham | 987 | | William Bell |
| Kaiapoi | Morgan Williams | Morgan Williams | Morgan Williams | 761 | | Harold Overton |
| Kaipara | Gordon Coates | | Clifton Webb | 2,800 | | John Stewart |
| Lyttelton | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | 1,374 | | Ted Taylor |
| Manawatu | John Cobbe | | Matthew Oram | 2,305 | | William Henry Oliver |
| Marlborough | Ted Meachen | Ted Meachen | Ted Meachen | 450 | | Tom Shand |
| Marsden | Jim Barclay | | Alfred Murdoch | 1,006 | | Jim Barclay |
| Masterton | John Robertson | | Garnet Mackley | 494 | | John Robertson |
| Mataura | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Mid-Canterbury | Mary Grigg | | Geoff Gerard | 634 | | David Barnes |
| Motueka | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 301 | | John Robert Haldane |
| Napier | Bill Barnard | | Tommy Armstrong | 1,273 | | Morris Spence |
| Nelson | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | 191 | | Frederick William Huggins |
| New Plymouth | Fred Frost | | Ernest Aderman | 1,276 | | Fred Frost |
| Oamaru | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | 125 | | Thomas Ross Beatty |
| Onehunga | Arthur Osborne | Arthur Osborne | Arthur Osborne | 3,324 | | John Park |
| Otahuhu | Charles Petrie | Charles Petrie | Charles Petrie | 464 | | Gordon Hamilton |
| Otaki | Leonard Lowry | Leonard Lowry | Leonard Lowry | 191 | | Bert Cooksley |
| Pahiatua | Alfred Ransom | | Keith Holyoake | 1,825 | | George Anders Hansen |
| Palmerston North | Joe Hodgens | Joe Hodgens | Joe Hodgens | 212 | | Gus Mansford |
| Patea | Harold Dickie | | William Sheat | 912 | | Alex Langslow |
| Raglan | Lee Martin | | Robert Coulter | 108 | | Robert James Glasgow |
| Rangitikei | Edward Gordon | Edward Gordon | Edward Gordon | 1,612 | | Robert Freeman |
| Remuera | Bill Endean | | Ronald Algie | 4,183 | | Martyn Finlay |
| Riccarton | Bert Kyle | | Jack Watts | 1,322 | | Harold Denton |
| Roskill | Arthur Richards | Arthur Richards | Arthur Richards | 962 | | Roy McElroy |
| Rotorua | Alexander Moncur | | Geoffrey Sim | 715 | | Alexander Moncur |
| Stratford | William Polson | William Polson | William Polson | 2,059 | | Brian Richmond |
| Tauranga | Frederick Doidge | Frederick Doidge | Frederick Doidge | 3,625 | | Dudley A. Hill |
| Temuka | Jack Acland | Jack Acland | Jack Acland | 1,690 | | George Harris |
| Thames | Jim Thorn | Jim Thorn | Jim Thorn | 935 | | William Alexander Clark |
| Timaru | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 1,701 | | Jack Satterthwaite |
| Waikato | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | 4,615 | | Charles Croall |
| Waimarino | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | 1,404 | | Roger Oswald Montgomerie |
| Waipawa | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 2,091 | | Archie Low |
| Wairarapa | Ben Roberts | Ben Roberts | Ben Roberts | 151 | | Jimmy Maher |
| Waitaki | David Campbell Kidd | David Campbell Kidd | David Campbell Kidd | 821 | | John S. Adams |
| Waitemata | Mary Dreaver | | Henry Thorne Morton | 321 | | Mary Dreaver |
| Waitomo | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | 1,881 | | Ben Waters |
| Wallace | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | 1,607 | | John James Lynch |
| Wanganui | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 2,437 | | Eric James Kirk |
| Wellington Central | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 1,206 | | Will Appleton |
| Wellington East | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | 2,588 | | Len Jacobsen |
| Wellington North | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | 1,897 | | Thomas Hislop |
| Wellington South | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | 4,156 | | Ernest Toop |
| Wellington Suburbs | Harry Combs | Harry Combs | Harry Combs | 2,581 | | Bill Veitch |
| Wellington West | Catherine Stewart | | Charles Bowden | 1,183 | | Catherine Stewart |
| Westland | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | 2,600 | | Frank Chivers |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Āpirana Ngata | | Tiaki Omana | 240 | | Āpirana Ngata |
| Northern Maori | Paraire Karaka Paikea | | Tapihana Paraire Paikea | 2,438 | | Eru Moka Pou |
| Southern Maori | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 558 | | John Piuraki Tikao-Barrett |
| Western Maori | Toko Ratana | Toko Ratana | Toko Ratana | 3,309 | | Pei Te Hurinui Jones |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Father of the historian W. H. Oliver

### By-elections during 27th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 27th Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner |
| Awarua | 1944 | 28 October | James Hargest | Death | George Herron |
| Western Maori | 1945 | 10 February | Toko Ratana | Death | Matiu Ratana |
| Hamilton | 1945 | 26 May | Frank Findlay | Death | Hilda Ross |
| Dunedin North | 1945 | 21 July | Jim Munro | Death | Robert Walls |
| Raglan | 1946 | 5 March | Robert Coulter | Death | Hallyburton Johnstone |