# 1957 New Zealand general election

The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.

## Background

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections, and had been re-elected in the 1951 elections and the 1954 elections. As its third term in office continued, however, the Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, became increasingly ill. Holland's memory began to fail, and he is believed to have suffered a mild heart attack while working in his office during the Suez Crisis. In mid-1957 a group of senior cabinet ministers led by Keith Holyoake, Jack Marshall, Jack Watts and party president, Sir Alex McKenzie, persuaded Holland to resign citing his health deterioration. Holland, albeit reluctantly, announced his retirement from the leadership at the National's annual party conference on 12 August 1957 held in Christchurch. Almost immediately after finishing his speech Holland collapsed backstage and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. Although his retirement was announced in August, Holland's continued presence prevented his successor, the deputy prime minister Holyoake, from establishing himself as a leader until late October, when at last he formed his own ministry which was still largely the same as his predecessor's.
Leadership was to play a key issue in the election. After spending many years in Holland's shadow, Holyoake, a reserved man lacking Holland's rapport with crowds, was unable to achieve any clear popular image in his own right. Labour's Walter Nash, by contrast, was one of the best-known people in the country, having been a party leader for many years and having been Finance Minister in the first Labour government before that.
Labour opened its campaign on 5 November with Nash broadcasting a speech from the Auckland Town Hall (despites some reservations of it coinciding with Guy Fawkes night). The speech, mainly regarding Labour's economic policies, was regarded by listeners as excellent with Nash in fine speaking form. Nash would give over twenty other speeches at public meetings throughout the country where he attracted large and receptive crowds. One daytime meeting late in the campaign, Nash arrived behind schedule, and a crowd of employees forfeited an hour's pay (having already taken their lunchbreak) so they could hear him speak. Holyoake, by contrast, attracted little interest in his meeting addresses (particularly in the South Island).
In terms of policy, the election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues, particularly regarding the introduction of the PAYE system of income tax. As a campaign promise, Labour announced that in the year that PAYE commenced, there would be a flat rebate of £100 on income tax. National, seeing the popularity of the policy, was forced into offering a similar policy. The Labour Party's president, Mick Moohan, seeing this popularity came to the view that the election was akin to an auction. He published a newspaper advertisement which boldly asked: 'DO YOU WANT £100 OR NOT?'. Nash found the ad distasteful thinking it could be interpreted as a bribe. National attacked the ad as misleading by implying that everyone would receive a £100 rebate, whether or not they actually paid as much as £100 in tax.
Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training, opposing nuclear tests, 3% housing loans, increased pension payments, free textbooks for school children and industrialisation. National made no great changes to its existing policy platform.

### MPs retiring in 1957

Six National MPs intended to retire at the end of the 31st Parliament. No Labour MPs retired.
| Party | Name | Electorate |
| National | Ernest Corbett | Egmont |
| National | George Herron | Awarua |
| National | Sidney Holland | Fendalton |
| National | Tom Macdonald | Wallace |
| National | Edgar Neale | Nelson |
| National | Matthew Oram | Manawatu |
Jack Massey also left parliament at the election. He intended to stand again in Franklin but was deselected as a candidate by the National Party.

## The election

The date for the main 1957 election was 30 November. 1,252,329 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 92.9%. This turnout, although only average for the time, was not to be equalled or exceeded until the 1984 election. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
The Labour candidate for Clutha, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, and the election there was postponed to 18 January 1958. The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election.

## Election results
### Party standings

The 1957 election saw the governing National Party defeated by a narrow two-seat margin. It had previously held a ten-seat majority. National won a total of thirty-nine seats, while the Labour Party won forty-one. In the popular vote, National won 44% to Labour's 48%. The Social Credit Party won 7% of the vote, a drop from its previous result of 11%. It still won no seats.
Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | change |
| | Labour | 80 | 559,096 | 48.31 | 41 | +6 |
| | National | 80 | 511,699 | 44.21 | 39 | −6 |
| | Social Credit | 80 | 83,498 | 7.21 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist | 5 | 706 | 0.06 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Liberal Federation | 2 | 282 | 0.02 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independents | 11 | 2,084 | 0.18 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 258 | 1,157,365 | | 80 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
Labour
48.31%
National
44.21%
Social Credit
7.21%
Others
0.26% :
Parliament seats
Labour
51.25%
National
48.75% :
The table below shows the results of the 1957 general election:
Key
Labour  National
Electorate results for the 1957 New Zealand general election. :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | 1,769 | George Glassey |
| Auckland Central | | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 3,856 | Aileen Joyce |
| Avon | | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 6,100 | William Ernest Olds |
| Awarua | | George Herron | | Gordon Grieve | 1,636 | J P Wyatt |
| Bay of Plenty | | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | 910 | Godfrey Santon |
| Buller | | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 2,677 | Norman Leon Bensemann |
| Christchurch Central | | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 4,071 | Colin McLachlan |
| Clutha | | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 1,490 | Joseph Fahey |
| Dunedin Central | | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | 1,778 | Marcus Anderson |
| Dunedin North | | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | 3,408 | George Terry |
| Eden | | Duncan Rae | Duncan Rae | Duncan Rae | 498 | Ian Watkins |
| Egmont | | Ernest Corbett | | William Sheat | 2,697 | Clarence Robert Parker |
| Fendalton | | Sidney Holland | | Jack Watts | 824 | Lawrence White |
| Franklin | | Jack Massey | | Alfred E. Allen | 4,241 | Christopher Mountford |
| Gisborne | | Reginald Keeling | Reginald Keeling | Reginald Keeling | 1,182 | Arthur MacPherson |
| Grey Lynn | | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | 5,785 | Bernard Griffiths |
| Hamilton | | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | 1,110 | Ben Waters |
| Hastings | | Ted Keating | Ted Keating | Ted Keating | 1,070 | Arthur Heafy Sievewright |
| Hauraki | | Arthur Kinsella | Arthur Kinsella | Arthur Kinsella | 1,161 | Brevat William Dynes |
| Hawkes Bay | | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 2,858 | Leonard Thomas Fischer |
| Heretaunga | | Phil Holloway | Phil Holloway | Phil Holloway | 5,117 | Allan McCready |
| Hobson | | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | 3,134 | Colin Moyle |
| Hurunui | | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | 1,749 | Lyn Christie |
| Hutt | | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 4,430 | Lance Adams-Schneider |
| Invercargill | | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | 679 | Thomas Francis Doyle |
| Island Bay | | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | 4,209 | Saul Goldsmith |
| Karori | | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | 3,061 | Keith Spry |
| Lyttelton | | Harry Lake | | Norman Kirk | 567 | Harry Lake |
| Manawatu | | Matthew Oram | | Blair Tennent | 1,575 | Patrick Kelliher |
| Manukau | | Leon Götz | Leon Götz | Leon Götz | 159 | Cyril Douglas Stamp |
| Marlborough | | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 1,782 | Roy Evans |
| Marsden | | Don McKay | Don McKay | Don McKay | 2,088 | Mervyn Allan Hosking |
| Miramar | | Bill Fox | Bill Fox | Bill Fox | 2,077 | Clevedon Costello |
| Mornington | | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | 2,817 | Walter MacDougall |
| Mt Albert | | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 3,987 | Geoffrey Taylor |
| Napier | | Jim Edwards | Jim Edwards | Jim Edwards | 2,413 | Raymond Vincent Foster |
| Nelson | | Edgar Neale | | Stan Whitehead | 509 | Colin Wilson Martin |
| New Plymouth | | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | 657 | Ron Barclay |
| North Shore | | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | 462 | Peter Lawrence Smith |
| Onehunga | | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | 5,686 | Donald Watson |
| Onslow | | Henry May | Henry May | Henry May | 2,675 | Kevin O'Brien |
| Otago Central | | Jack George | Jack George | Jack George | 2,788 | J H Rapson |
| Otahuhu | | James Deas | James Deas | James Deas | 3,442 | Clive Haszard |
| Otaki | | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | 1,122 | Cyril Shamy |
| Pahiatua | | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 4,020 | William Erle Rose |
| Palmerston North | | Philip Skoglund | Philip Skoglund | Philip Skoglund | 1,348 | Bill Brown |
| Patea | | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | 902 | Benjamin R. Winchcombe |
| Petone | | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | 4,159 | Dan Riddiford |
| Piako | New electorate | New electorate | | Stan Goosman | 3,812 | Alistair Walker |
| Ponsonby | | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | 6,592 | Gordon Frederick Smith |
| Raglan | | Hallyburton Johnstone | | Douglas Carter | 161 | Alan Baxter |
| Rangitikei | | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | 2,983 | Stephen Malcolm Roberton |
| Remuera | | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | 4,766 | Russell Gordon Penney |
| Riccarton | | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | 2,867 | Deena V. Sergel |
| Rodney | | Jack Scott | Jack Scott | Jack Scott | 3,112 | George Webber |
| Roskill | | John Rae | | Arthur Faulkner | 2,117 | John Rae |
| Rotorua | | Ray Boord | Ray Boord | Ray Boord | 2,009 | Murray Linton |
| Selwyn | | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | 1,731 | Stanley Marshall Cook |
| St Albans | | Jack Watts | | Neville Pickering | 501 | Eric Philip Wills |
| St Kilda | | Jim Barnes | | Bill Fraser | 791 | Jim Barnes |
| Stratford | | Thomas Murray | Thomas Murray | Thomas Murray | 3,172 | J M Deegan |
| Sydenham | | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 6,450 | Oliver G. Moody |
| Tamaki | | Eric Halstead | | Bob Tizard | 589 | Eric Halstead |
| Tauranga | | George Walsh | George Walsh | George Walsh | 3,342 | Oliver Liddell |
| Timaru | | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 2,954 | Alfred Davey |
| Waikato | | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | 2,013 | Arthur John Ingram |
| Waipa | | Stan Goosman | | Hallyburton Johnstone | 1,813 | Albert Clifford Tucker |
| Wairarapa | | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | 1,058 | Bob Wilkie |
| Waitakere | | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 3,682 | Leonard Bradley |
| Waitaki | New electorate | New electorate | | Thomas Hayman | 1,618 | A G Braddock |
| Waitemata | | Norman King | Norman King | Norman King | 2,191 | Robert Muldoon |
| Waitomo | | David Seath | David Seath | David Seath | 2,474 | Vic Haines |
| Wallace | | Tom Macdonald | | Brian Talboys | 4,319 | John Reid |
| Wanganui | | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 1,419 | Alice Kathleen Maclean |
| Wellington Central | | Frank Kitts | Frank Kitts | Frank Kitts | 1,685 | Max Wall |
| Westland | | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | 4,745 | Fred Boustridge |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | 4,197 | Wiremu Hoete Maxwell |
| Northern Maori | | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | 4,310 | Timothy James Davis |
| Southern Maori | | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 4,383 | Thomas Stratton |
| Western Maori | | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | 5,553 | Pei Te Hurinui Jones |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ The previous Labour candidate, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, so the election in Clutha was postponed to 18 January 1958

## Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election:
* Hugh Watt resigned his seat on the Auckland Harbour Board on 17 December 1957 after his appointment to cabinet.
* There were two by-elections for the Christchurch City Council. Councillors Mabel Howard and John Mathison also resigned their seats following their election as cabinet ministers at the formation of the Second Labour government causing a by-election to replace them on the council. Likewise Robert Macfarlane resigned as Mayor of Christchurch upon his selection as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. Macfarlane was succeeded as mayor by councillor George Manning. McFarlane was elected for one of the vacant seats on the council, with the other seats being won by Bill Glue, Bill MacGibbon and Peter Skellerup.