# 1969 New Zealand general election

The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of Parliament's 36th term. It saw the Second National Government headed by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake of the National Party win a fourth consecutive term. This is the most recent election where an incumbent government won a fourth term in office.

## 1967 electoral redistribution

Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, an increase of one since the 1962 electoral redistribution. It was accepted that through the more rapid population growth in the North Island, the number of its electorates would continue to increase, and to keep proportionality, three new electorates were allowed for in the 1967 electoral redistribution for the next election. In the North Island, five electorates were newly created (Birkenhead, Hamilton West, Henderson, Mangere, and Western Hutt) and one electorate was reconstituted (Waikato) while three electorates were abolished (Hamilton, Waipa, and Waitakere). In the South Island, three electorates were newly created (Papanui, South Canterbury, and Wigram) and one electorate was reconstituted (Oamaru) while three electorates were abolished (Ashburton, Fendalton, and Waitaki). The overall effect of the required changes was highly disruptive to existing electorates, with all but three electorates (Franklin, Wairarapa, and St Kilda) having their boundaries altered. These changes came into effect with the 1969 election.
The increase to 84 electorates was the first since the 1902 electoral distribution. Due to the fixed number of South Island electorates, the number of North Island electorates has increased in every subsequent election until the introduction of mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) for the 1996 election, which fixed the number of seats at 120.

### MPs retiring in 1969

Four National MPs and five Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 35th Parliament.
| Party | Name | Electorate |
| National | Gordon Grieve | Awarua |
| National | Arthur Kinsella | Hauraki |
| National | Jack George | Otago Central |
| National | Jack Scott | Rodney |
| Labour | Robert Macfarlane | Christchurch Central |
| Labour | Ritchie Macdonald | Grey Lynn |
| Labour | Arnold Nordmeyer | Island Bay |
| Labour | Mabel Howard | Sydenham |
| Labour | Iriaka Rātana | Western Maori |
Sir Walter Nash MP for Hutt had announced he would retire at the end of the term in 1969, but he died on 4 June 1968 triggering a by-election instead.

## Election

The election was held on 29 November. Turnout was 88.94%. The total number of MPs had increased to 84, with at least 3 of the 4 new seats likely Labour seats. 55 and 25 electorates were in the North Island and South Island, respectively, plus the 4 Māori electorates.

## Results

National pulled off a cliff-hanger victory. National won 45 seats, and Labour won 39 seats, though Labour's share of the vote was only 1% behind National. The Social Credit Party lost its only seat in Parliament: Hobson, formerly held by then party leader Vernon Cracknell.
Despite the hopes of a reinvigorated Labour party under Norman Kirk, Labour was overconfident, started too late, and did not win in Auckland. Relations with the Federation of Labour and the unions were not good, and an industrial dispute on the ship Wainui cost Labour three Auckland seats according to Kirk. Labour MP Warren Freer personally believed that "had it not been for the seamen's strike during the election period, we could have won".
In Eden, Labour was first on election night but lost when special votes were counted.
Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change |
| | National | 84 | 605,960 | 45.2 | 45 | +1 |
| | Labour | 84 | 592,055 | 44.2 | 39 | +4 |
| | Social Credit | 84 | 121,576 | 9.1 | 0 | −1 |
| | Country Party | 15 | 6,715 | 0.5 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist | 4 | 418 | 0.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independents | 36 | 8,457 | 0.6 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 303 | 1,340,168 | | 84 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
National
45.20%
Labour
44.20%
Social Credit
9.10%
Country
0.50%
Independents
0.60%
Others
0.4% :
Parliament seats
National
53.57%
Labour
46.43% :
The table below shows the results of the 1969 general election:
Key
National  Labour  Social Credit  Independent
Electorate results for the 1969 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | Colin McLachlan | Colin McLachlan | Colin McLachlan | 2,590 | John Srhoy |
| Auckland Central | | Norman Douglas | Norman Douglas | Norman Douglas | 1,124 | Clive Edwards |
| Avon | | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 5,600 | Alistair Ansell |
| Awarua | | Gordon Grieve | | Hugh Templeton | 906 | Aubrey Begg |
| Bay of Plenty | | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | 3,440 | Barry Kelly |
| Birkenhead | New electorate | New electorate | | Norman King | 1,701 | Don McKinnon |
| Buller | | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | 2,822 | Ernie King |
| Christchurch Central | | Robert Macfarlane | | Bruce Barclay | 3,406 | Colin Knight |
| Clutha | | Peter Gordon | Peter Gordon | Peter Gordon | 3,618 | Les McKay |
| Dunedin Central | | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | 3,949 | Margaret Mary Reichwein |
| Dunedin North | | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | 2,929 | Iona Williams |
| Eden | | John Rae | John Rae | John Rae | 67 | Keith Sinclair |
| Egmont | | Venn Young | Venn Young | Venn Young | 4,280 | Tom McGreevy |
| Franklin | | Alfred E. Allen | Alfred E. Allen | Alfred E. Allen | 5,495 | Tai Tuhimata |
| Gisborne | | Esme Tombleson | Esme Tombleson | Esme Tombleson | 781 | Trevor Davey |
| Grey Lynn | | Ritchie Macdonald | | Eddie Isbey | 2,915 | Jens Meder |
| Hamilton West | New electorate | New electorate | | Leslie Munro | 1,878 | Bob Reese |
| Hastings | | Duncan MacIntyre | Duncan MacIntyre | Duncan MacIntyre | 706 | Richard Mayson |
| Hauraki | | Arthur Kinsella | | Leo Schultz | 2,121 | Dorothy Jelicich |
| Hawkes Bay | | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | 3,416 | David Butcher |
| Henderson | New electorate | New electorate | | Martyn Finlay | 3,295 | Adrian Clarke |
| Heretaunga | | Ron Bailey | Ron Bailey | Ron Bailey | 1,375 | Ralph Miller |
| Hobson | | Vernon Cracknell | | Logan Sloane | 1,252 | Vernon Cracknell |
| Hutt | | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | 1,775 | Don Lee |
| Invercargill | | Ralph Hanan | | John Chewings | 1,031 | Trevor Young |
| Island Bay | | Arnold Nordmeyer | | Gerald O'Brien | 1,348 | Fairlie Curry |
| Karori | | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | 6,226 | Roy Tombs |
| Lyttelton | | Norman Kirk | | Tom McGuigan | 292 | Peter de Latour |
| Manawatu | | Les Gandar | Les Gandar | Les Gandar | 1,323 | Ernie Hemmingsen |
| Mangere | New electorate | New electorate | | Colin Moyle | 4,588 | Neville Charles Slater |
| Manukau | | Colin Moyle | | Roger Douglas | 875 | Ronald Alfred Walden |
| Manurewa | | Phil Amos | Phil Amos | Phil Amos | 1,371 | Pat Baker |
| Marlborough | | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 2,460 | Ian Brooks |
| Marsden | | Don McKay | Don McKay | Don McKay | 1,101 | Murray Smith |
| Miramar | | Bill Young | Bill Young | Bill Young | 1,789 | Charles Troughton |
| Mt Albert | | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 2,837 | Gavin Downie |
| Napier | | Gordon Christie | Gordon Christie | Gordon Christie | 1,970 | Terry Dunleavy |
| Nelson | | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | 1,248 | Roy McLennan |
| New Lynn | | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | 3,600 | Vic Watson |
| New Plymouth | | Ron Barclay | Ron Barclay | Ron Barclay | 1,000 | Brian Clark |
| North Shore | | George Gair | George Gair | George Gair | 3,964 | Donald Frederick Dugdale |
| Oamaru | New electorate | New electorate | | Allan Dick | 497 | N Agnew |
| Onehunga | | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | 4,539 | Daphne Double |
| Otago Central | | Jack George | | Murray Rose | 1,086 | Brian Griffiths |
| Otaki | | Allan McCready | Allan McCready | Allan McCready | 2,037 | John Scott |
| Pahiatua | | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 4,920 | Trevor de Cleene |
| Pakuranga | | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | 1,253 | Noel Holmes |
| Palmerston North | | Joe Walding | Joe Walding | Joe Walding | 161 | Gordon Cruden |
| Papanui | New electorate | New electorate | | Bert Walker | 2,096 | Martin Hobby |
| Petone | | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | 3,450 | Francis Joshua Handy |
| Piako | | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | 4,426 | George Bryant |
| Porirua | | Henry May | | Gerry Wall | 2,744 | Paul William Mitchell |
| Raglan | | Douglas Carter | Douglas Carter | Douglas Carter | 593 | Dudley Sinclair |
| Rangiora | | Lorrie Pickering | Lorrie Pickering | Lorrie Pickering | 1,143 | Paul Piesse |
| Rangitikei | | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | 4,214 | Dan Duggan |
| Remuera | | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | 7,097 | Hamish Keith |
| Riccarton | | Mick Connelly | | Eric Holland | 2,939 | Alan C. McEwen |
| Rodney | | Jack Scott | | Peter Wilkinson | 2,832 | Nevern McConachy |
| Roskill | | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | 3,296 | Anthony Cook |
| Rotorua | | Harry Lapwood | Harry Lapwood | Harry Lapwood | 1,198 | Charles Bennett |
| St Albans | | Bert Walker | | Roger Drayton | 909 | Ian Wilson |
| St Kilda | | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | 3,795 | Lloyd George Anderson |
| South Canterbury | New electorate | New electorate | | Rob Talbot | 1,215 | Maurice Austin Cameron |
| Stratford | | David Thomson | David Thomson | David Thomson | 4,158 | Lindsay Hugh Stockbridge |
| Sydenham | | Mabel Howard | | Norman Kirk | 6,026 | Peter Morrissey |
| Tamaki | | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | 6,088 | Alfred David Bolton |
| Taupo | | Rona Stevenson | Rona Stevenson | Rona Stevenson | 107 | Arthur John Ingram |
| Tauranga | | George Walsh | George Walsh | George Walsh | 2,704 | Ray Dillon |
| Timaru | | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | 3,101 | Dave Walker |
| Waikato | New electorate | New electorate | | Lance Adams-Schneider | 3,408 | Alfred Ernest George |
| Waimarino | | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | 2,213 | Shaun Alex Cameron |
| Wairarapa | | Haddon Donald | | Jack Williams | 467 | Haddon Donald |
| Waitemata | | Norman King | | Frank Gill | 1,052 | Michael Bassett |
| Waitomo | | David Seath | David Seath | David Seath | 5,674 | Neil Roger David Shewan |
| Wallace | | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | 4,532 | J Robson |
| Wanganui | | George Spooner | | Bill Tolhurst | 959 | George Spooner |
| Wellington Central | | Dan Riddiford | Dan Riddiford | Dan Riddiford | 2,200 | Olive Smuts-Kennedy |
| Western Hutt | New electorate | New electorate | | Henry May | 1,421 | Egan E Ogier |
| Westland | | Paddy Blanchfield | Paddy Blanchfield | Paddy Blanchfield | 1,879 | Barry Dallas |
| Wigram | New electorate | New electorate | | Mick Connelly | 3,200 | Dick Dawson |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Paraone Reweti | Paraone Reweti | Paraone Reweti | 3,487 | Henare Ngata |
| Northern Maori | | Matiu Rata | Matiu Rata | Matiu Rata | 4,758 | Graham Latimer |
| Southern Maori | | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | 6,630 | Norra Woodbane Pomare |
| Western Maori | | Iriaka Rātana | | Koro Wētere | 7,530 | P J Hura |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Sinclair was first on election night for Eden (by 35 votes), but lost when special votes were included