# 31st New Zealand Parliament

The 31st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1954 general election on 13 November of that year.

## 1954 general election

The 1954 general election was held on Saturday, 13 November. A total of 80 MPs were elected; 50 represented North Island electorates, 26 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was a gain of one electorate for the North Island from the South Island since the 1951 election. 1,209,670 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 91.4%.

## Sessions

The 31st Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 25 October 1957.
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
| first | 22 March 1955 | 28 October 1955 |
| second | 4 April 1956 | 26 October 1956 |
| third | 11 June 1957 | 25 October 1957 |

## Ministries

The National Party under Sidney Holland had been in power since the 1949 election, and Holland remained in charge until 1957, when he stepped down due to ill health in September 1957 some two months prior to the 1957 election. Holland was succeeded by Keith Holyoake, but the Labour Party narrowly defeated National at the 1957 election, and the government changed in mid-December of that year.

## Overview of seats

The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1954 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members | Members |
| Affiliation | Affiliation | At 1954 election | At dissolution |
| | National Government | 45 | 45 |
| | Labour Opposition | 35 | 35 |
| Total | Total | 80 | 80 |
| Working Government majority | Working Government majority | 10 | 10 |
Notes
* The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.

## Initial composition of the 31st Parliament

The table below shows the results of the 1954 general election:
Key
National  Labour  Independent  Social Credit
Electorate results for the 1954 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | 2,292 | George Glassey |
| Auckland Central | | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 4,093 | John Weir Stewart |
| Avon | | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 4,955 | Arthur Norman Stone |
| Awarua | | George Herron | George Herron | George Herron | 3,172 | J P Wyatt |
| Bay of Plenty | | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | 3,062 | Godfrey Santon |
| Buller | | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 3,348 | Derisly Manwell Carson |
| Central Otago | | William Bodkin | | Jack George | 2,074 | Peter John Scott |
| Christchurch Central | | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 3,395 | Oliver G. Moody |
| Clutha | | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 1,490 | T A Rodgers |
| Dunedin Central | | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | 330 | Marcus Anderson |
| Dunedin North | | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | 2,791 | Helen Black |
| Eden | | Wilfred Fortune | | Duncan Rae | 8 | John Stewart |
| Egmont | | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | 2,977 | Roy Evans |
| Fendalton | | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | 3,004 | Roy Henry McDonald |
| Franklin | | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | 4,587 | Percival Peacock |
| Gisborne | | Harry Dudfield | | Reginald Keeling | 521 | Harry Dudfield |
| Grey Lynn | | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | 4,807 | Tom McGowan |
| Hamilton | | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | 1,430 | Ben Waters |
| Hastings | | Sydney Jones | | Ted Keating | 252 | Sydney Jones |
| Hauraki | | Andy Sutherland | | Arthur Kinsella | 2,659 | Brevat William Dynes |
| Hawkes Bay | | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 3,109 | A Stafford |
| Heretaunga | New electorate | New electorate | | Phil Holloway | 5,058 | Allan McCready |
| Hobson | | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | 2,584 | Cecil William Elvidge |
| Hurunui | | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | 2,395 | Norman Kirk |
| Hutt | | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 3,681 | Clevedon Costello |
| Invercargill | | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | 943 | William Denham |
| Island Bay | | Robert McKeen | | Arnold Nordmeyer | 3,824 | John Maurice Whitta |
| Karori | | Charles Bowden | | Jack Marshall | 1,811 | Jim Bateman |
| Lyttelton | | Harry Lake | Harry Lake | Harry Lake | 24 | Tom McGuigan |
| Manawatu | | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | 2,228 | Patrick Kelliher |
| Manukau | New electorate | New electorate | | Leon Götz | 3,072 | Cyril Stamp |
| Marlborough | | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 1,635 | George Allan Turner |
| Marsden | | Alfred Murdoch | | Don McKay | 872 | Mervyn Allan Hosking |
| Miramar | | Bob Semple | | Bill Fox | 1,527 | Robert John McConnell |
| Mornington | | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | 3,886 | Walter MacDougall |
| Mt Albert | | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 3,226 | Robert Muldoon |
| Napier | | Peter Tait | | Jim Edwards | 720 | Peter Tait |
| Nelson | | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | 717 | Stan Whitehead |
| New Plymouth | | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | 1,178 | Clarence Robert Parker |
| North Shore | | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | 1,395 | Arthur Faulkner |
| Oamaru | | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | 1,358 | J H Rapson |
| Onehunga | | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | 4,389 | Alfred E. Allen |
| Onslow | | Henry May | Henry May | Henry May | 519 | Wilfred Fortune |
| Otahuhu | | Leon Götz | | James Deas | 1,806 | Leonard Bradley |
| Otaki | | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | 963 | Ernie Langford |
| Pahiatua | | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 3,519 | Ronald Bell |
| Palmerston North | | Blair Tennent | | Philip Skoglund | 346 | Blair Tennant |
| Patea | | William Sheat | | Roy Jack | 662 | Benjamin Winchcombe |
| Petone | | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | 4,211 | Fanny Elizabeth Soward |
| Ponsonby | | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | 3,948 | Harold Barry |
| Raglan | | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | 857 | James Harrison Wilson |
| Rangitikei | | Edward Gordon | | Norman Shelton | 2,679 | Stephen Malcolm Roberton |
| Remuera | | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | 3,544 | Bob Tizard |
| Riccarton | | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | 4,343 | Balfour Grieve Dingwall |
| Rodney | | Clifton Webb | | Jack Scott | 3,270 | Arthur Hellyn |
| Roskill | | John Rae | John Rae | John Rae | 1,652 | Elizabeth Morris |
| Rotorua | New electorate | New electorate | | Ray Boord | 822 | Percy Allen |
| St Albans | | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | 608 | Mick Connelly |
| St Kilda | | Jim Barnes | Jim Barnes | Jim Barnes | 114 | Fred Jones |
| Selwyn | | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | 2,521 | Daniel Clinton |
| Stratford | New electorate | New electorate | | Thomas Murray | 2,966 | Brian Edgar Richmond |
| Sydenham | | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 5,560 | Alma Schumacher |
| Tamaki | | Eric Halstead | Eric Halstead | Eric Halstead | 1,986 | Pat Curran |
| Tauranga | | George Walsh | George Walsh | George Walsh | 3,448 | Oliver Liddell |
| Timaru | | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 1,423 | Vic Wilson |
| Waikato | | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | 4,698 | Albert Clifford Tucker |
| Waimate | | (vacant) | | Alfred Davey | 1,438 | Neville Pickering |
| Waipa | New electorate | New electorate | | Stan Goosman | 4,435 | Harold Francis Gallagher |
| Wairarapa | | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | 1,691 | Bob Wilkie |
| Waitakere | | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 3,424 | Jim McAllister |
| Waitemata | New electorate | New electorate | | Norman King | 387 | Hubert Morrison |
| Waitomo | | Walter Broadfoot | | David Seath | 1,480 | Vic Haines |
| Wallace | | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | 4,466 | J W Cleary |
| Wanganui | | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 305 | Jack Rumbold |
| Wellington Central | | Charles Chapman | | Frank Kitts | 627 | Allan Highet |
| Westland | | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | 3,605 | Mark Wallace |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | 3,094 | Claude Anaru |
| Northern Maori | | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | 4,435 | Tono Waetford |
| Southern Maori | | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 2,864 | Turi Carroll |
| Western Maori | | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | 6,637 | William Rakeipoho Bennett |

### Table footnotes

* ↑ John Stewart was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
* ↑ Tom McGuigan was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
* ↑ National deselected the sitting MP (Alfred Murdoch) (q.v.) in favour of William Vallance; then Vallance had tax problems and was replaced by Don McKay. When Vallance ran as an independent candidate, the vote-splitting almost cost National the seat.
* ↑ David Campbell Kidd, the National Party MP for Waimate, died less than two months before the election, leaving his seat vacant.

## By-elections during 31st Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 31st Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | Winner |
| Riccarton | 1956 | 27 October | | Angus McLagan | Death | | Mick Connelly |
| Bay of Plenty | 1957 | 6 April | | Bill Sullivan | Resignation | | Percy Allen |