# 1938 New Zealand general election

The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected in a landslide, winning nearly 56% of the vote despite not gaining any more seats. Having replaced the United-Reform coalition, the newly founded National Party also gained a certain amount of ground.
This was the first election in which the Māori were given a secret ballot which had been available to white voters since 1870.

## Background

The Labour Party had won a resounding victory in the 1935 elections, winning fifty-three seats. Shortly after the elections, the two Ratana-aligned MPs also merged into the Labour Party, giving Labour a total of fifty-five seats. The government, a coalition of the United Party and the Reform Party, had won only nineteen seats. Shortly after their defeat, United and Reform agreed to merge into the National Party, which positioned itself as the only alternative to the "socialist" Labour Party. However, Labour remained popular with the public, and the Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, was widely praised for his welfare reform. The leadership of the National Party, by contrast, was closely associated by the public with the Great Depression, and struggled to gain traction.

## The election

The date for the main 1938 elections was 15 October, a Saturday. Elections to the four Maori electorates were held the day before. 995,173 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 92.9%. This turnout was the highest ever recorded at that point, although it was later exceeded in the two elections after World War II and in the 1984 elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

## Results

The 1938 election saw a decisive win for the governing Labour Party, which won fifty-three seats. This was a drop of two from what it held prior to the election. While Labour gained the seats of Bay of Islands, Motueka (previously held by Keith Holyoake), New Plymouth, Wellington Suburbs, and Northern Maori, it lost Tauranga and the rural seats of Manawatu, Rangitikei, Waikato, Mid-Canterbury, and Waipawa.
The National Party won twenty-five seats, an increase of six from that the United–Reform Coalition had previously won. Both Labour and National increased their share of the popular vote, with Labour winning 55.8% (up from 46.1%) and National winning 40.3% (up from 32.9%). This increase was at the expense of the Democrat Party (who had merged into National in 1936) and the agrarian monetary reformist Country Party, which saw its votes collapse completely. The Country Party lost the two seats it held (Bay of Islands and Franklin) as, unlike 1935, Labour stood candidates in the seats held by the two Country Party members. Hence Harold Rushworth did not stand in the Bay of Islands seat, and Arthur Sexton came third in Franklin.
Independent candidates also lost ground, with only two being elected, Harry Atmore (Nelson) and Charles Wilkinson (Egmont). As in 1935, the independents were tactically supported by one of the major parties who did not stand a candidate against them, and they generally voted with that party; Wilkinson and Wright had supported National while Atmore had supported Labour. But Robert Wright was defeated for the new electorate of Wellington West by Labour despite National not running a candidate against him.
An analysis of men and women on the rolls against the votes recorded showed that in the 1938 election 92.85% of those on the European rolls voted; men 93.43% and women 92.27%. In the 1935 election the figures were 90.75% with men 92.02% and women 89.46%. As the Māori electorates did not have electoral rolls they could not be included.
This was the first election in which the Māori were given a secret ballot. Secret ballots had been available to white voters since 1870, but it was not extended to Māori voters until the 1937 Electoral Amendment Act was passed. The number of votes cast in the Māori seats in the 1938 election rose 18.3% from the 1935 election. Opponents of the secret ballot for the Māori claimed that the Māori suffered from illiteracy, but only 2.28% of the ballots were ruled invalid. Member of Parliament Eruera Tirikatene praised the secret ballot for the Māori as he regarded it as one of the rights promised in the Treaty of Waitangi.

### Party standings

Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Votes | Percentage | Seats won | change |
| | Labour | 78 | 528,290 | 55.80 | 53 | -2* |
| | National | 77 | 381,081 | 40.30 | 25 | +9 |
| | Country Party | 5 | 2,199 | 0.23 | 0 | -2 |
| | Independents | 16 | 34,823 | 3.65 | 2 | -3 |
| Total | Total | 176 | 946,393 | | 80 | |
*includes two Ratana MPs (Toko Ratana, Eruera Tirikatene) who joined the Labour caucus after the 1935 election

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
Labour
55.80%
National
40.30%
Country Party
0.23%
Independent
3.65% :
Parliament seats
Labour
66.25%
National
31.25%
Independent
2.50% :

### Electorate results

The following table shows the detailed results:
Key
Labour  National  Country Party  Independent  Independent Liberal
Electorate results for the 1938 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Auckland Central | | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 6,181 | Clifford Reid Dodd |
| Auckland East | | Bill Schramm | Bill Schramm | Bill Schramm | 2,626 | Harry Tom Merritt |
| Auckland Suburbs | | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 4,862 | Maxwell Stuart Walker |
| Auckland West | | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | 8,007 | John W. Kealy |
| Avon | | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | 6,179 | Hiram Hunter |
| Awarua | | James Hargest | James Hargest | James Hargest | 660 | Joseph Albert Beck |
| Bay of Islands | | Harold Rushworth | | Charles Boswell | 163 | Harold Fisher Guy |
| Bay of Plenty | | Gordon Hultquist | Gordon Hultquist | Gordon Hultquist | 169 | Bill Sullivan |
| Buller | | Paddy Webb | Paddy Webb | Paddy Webb | 6,144 | Terry Maddison |
| Central Otago | | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | 1,231 | James McIndoe Mackay |
| Christchurch East | | Tim Armstrong | Tim Armstrong | Tim Armstrong | 7,179 | Ken Armour |
| Christchurch North | | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | 492 | Robert Macfarlane |
| Christchurch South | | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | 5,995 | Gladstone Ward |
| Clutha | | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 714 | Herbert Kerr Edie |
| Dunedin Central | | Peter Neilson | Peter Neilson | Peter Neilson | 3,814 | William John Meade |
| Dunedin North | | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | 3,557 | Alexander Smith Falconer |
| Dunedin South | | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | 4,314 | Rev. Ernest Aderman |
| Dunedin West | | Dr Gervan McMillan | Dr Gervan McMillan | Dr Gervan McMillan | 2,639 | Stuart Sidey |
| Eden | | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 2,333 | Donald Pool |
| Egmont | | Charles Wilkinson | Charles Wilkinson | Charles Wilkinson | 1,402 | Thomas Trask |
| Franklin | | Arthur Sexton | | Jack Massey | 2,057 | Ernest Piggott |
| Gisborne | | David Coleman | David Coleman | David Coleman | 3,640 | Kenneth Jones |
| Grey Lynn | | John A. Lee | John A. Lee | John A. Lee | 8,607 | Joseph Alexander Govan |
| Hamilton | | Charles Barrell | Charles Barrell | Charles Barrell | 1,860 | Albert William Grant |
| Hauraki | | Robert Coulter | | John Manchester Allen | 1,188 | Robert Coulter |
| Hawkes Bay | | Ted Cullen | Ted Cullen | Ted Cullen | 2,658 | George Maddison |
| Hurunui | | George Forbes | George Forbes | George Forbes | 535 | Harold Denton |
| Hutt | | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 6,814 | Jack Andrews |
| Invercargill | | William Denham | William Denham | William Denham | 2,156 | Fred Hall-Jones |
| Kaiapoi | | Morgan Williams | Morgan Williams | Morgan Williams | 1,535 | George Warren |
| Kaipara | | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | 1,689 | Percy MacGregor Stewart |
| Lyttelton | | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | 2,984 | Isaac Wilson |
| Manawatu | | Lorrie Hunter | | John Cobbe | 1,644 | Lorrie Hunter |
| Marlborough | New electorate | New electorate | | Ted Meachen | 1,525 | Edward Healy |
| Marsden | | Jim Barclay | Jim Barclay | Jim Barclay | 557 | Alfred Murdoch |
| Masterton | | John Robertson | John Robertson | John Robertson | 190 | Jack Irving |
| Mataura | | David McDougall | | Tom Macdonald | 1,515 | David McDougall |
| Mid-Canterbury | | Horace Herring | | Arthur Grigg | 74 | Horace Herring |
| Motueka | | Keith Holyoake | | Jerry Skinner | 870 | Keith Holyoake |
| Napier | | Bill Barnard | Bill Barnard | Bill Barnard | 3,937 | John Ormond |
| Nelson | | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | 886 | John Robert Kerr |
| New Plymouth | | Sydney George Smith | | Fred Frost | 869 | Sydney George Smith |
| Oamaru | | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | 758 | Frank Cooney |
| Onehunga | New electorate | New electorate | | Arthur Osborne | 4,314 | John Park |
| Otahuhu | New electorate | New electorate | | Charles Robert Petrie | 2,267 | Kenneth Tennent |
| Otaki | | Leonard Lowry | Leonard Lowry | Leonard Lowry | 1,367 | George Alexander Monk |
| Pahiatua | | Alfred Ransom | Alfred Ransom | Alfred Ransom | 931 | George Anders Hansen |
| Palmerston North | | Joe Hodgens | Joe Hodgens | Joe Hodgens | 2,118 | Jimmy Nash |
| Patea | | Harold Dickie | Harold Dickie | Harold Dickie | 809 | Charles Joseph Duggan |
| Raglan | | Lee Martin | Lee Martin | Lee Martin | 604 | Andy Sutherland |
| Rangitikei | | Ormond Wilson | | Edward Gordon | 311 | Ormond Wilson |
| Remuera | New electorate | New electorate | | Bill Endean | 2,861 | Mary Dreaver |
| Riccarton | | Bert Kyle | Bert Kyle | Bert Kyle | 87 | Thomas Herbert Langford |
| Roskill | | Arthur Shapton Richards | Arthur Shapton Richards | Arthur Shapton Richards | 2,141 | Arthur Sagar Bailey |
| Rotorua | | Alexander Moncur | Alexander Moncur | Alexander Moncur | 1,648 | Henry William Nixon |
| Stratford | | William Polson | William Polson | William Polson | 1,101 | James Watson McMillan |
| Tauranga | | Charles Burnett | | Frederick Doidge | 1,138 | Charles Burnett |
| Temuka | | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | 1,249 | James Arnold Kearton |
| Thames | | Jim Thorn | Jim Thorn | Jim Thorn | 2,295 | William Alexander Clark |
| Timaru | | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 2,196 | W H Hall |
| Waikato | | Robert Coulter | | Stan Goosman | 2,928 | J W Neate |
| Waimarino | | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | 2,940 | Cecil Boles |
| Waipawa | | Max Christie | | Albert Jull | 446 | Max Christie |
| Wairarapa | | Ben Roberts | Ben Roberts | Ben Roberts | 777 | James Frederick Thompson |
| Waitaki | | David Barnes | | David Campbell Kidd | 14 | David Barnes |
| Waitemata | | Jack Lyon | Jack Lyon | Jack Lyon | 2,261 | John Ernest Close |
| Waitomo | | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | 329 | Jack Jones |
| Wallace | | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | 844 | John James Lynch |
| Wanganui | | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 3,920 | Henry Charles Veitch |
| Wellington Central | | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 3,837 | Will Appleton |
| Wellington East | | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | 4,736 | William Long Barker |
| Wellington North | | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | 3,278 | Elizabeth Gilmer |
| Wellington South | | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | 6,415 | David Howlett |
| Wellington Suburbs | | Robert Wright | | Harry Combs | 3,163 | Ossie Mazengarb |
| Wellington West | New electorate | New electorate | | Catherine Stewart | 956 | Robert Wright |
| Westland | | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | 3,729 | Ted Taylor |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | 1,064 | Rēweti Kōhere |
| Northern Maori | | Taurekareka Henare | | Paraire Karaka Paikea | 2,011 | Taurekareka Henare |
| Southern Maori | | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 485 | Thomas Kaiporohu Bragg |
| Western Maori | | Toko Ratana | Toko Ratana | Toko Ratana | 4,267 | Pei Te Hurinui Jones |