# 1949 New Zealand general election

The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party. This marked the end of the 14-year First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.

## Background

The Labour Party had formed its first ministry after winning the 1935 election, and had remained in power (with gradually decreasing majorities) since then. The National Party, formed by a merger of the parties which Labour had originally ousted, gradually increased its power in Parliament; the ineffectual Adam Hamilton was replaced by Sidney Holland, and internal disputes were gradually resolved. The Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, was increasingly weary. Ongoing shortages after World War II also eroded public support for the government. The National Party's decision not to repeal Labour's social welfare policies also increased its appeal.

### MPs retiring in 1949

Two Labour MPs and one National MP intended to retire at the end of the Parliament.
| Party | Name | Electorate |
| Labour | David Coleman | Gisborne |
| Labour | Charles Petrie | Otahuhu |
| National | Garnet Mackley | Wairarapa |

## The election

The date for the main elections was a Wednesday 30 November. Elections to the four Māori electorates were held the day before—the 1949 elections were the last in which Māori voted on a different day. 1,113,852 people were registered to vote, although rolls for the Māori electorates were "woefully inadequate." Voter turnout for the elections is disputed, given the problems with the Māori roll—some sources place it at 93.5 percent, while others estimate 92.9 percent. Regardless, the turnout was relatively high for the time. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

## Election results
### Party standings

The 1949 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin. It has previously held a four-seat majority. Labour won a total of 34 seats, as opposed to National's 46. The popular vote was considerably closer—Labour won 47.2 percent to National's 51.9 percent. No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents.
John A. Lee stood for Grey Lynn as the sole Democratic Labour candidate and got 2,627 votes, coming third.
Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | change |
| | National | 80 | 556,805 | 51.88 | 46 | +8 |
| | Labour | 80 | 506,073 | 47.16 | 34 | −8 |
| | Communist | 16 | 3,499 | 0.33 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Democratic Labour | 1 | 2,627 | 0.24 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Others | 19 | 4,150 | 0.39 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 196 | 1,073,154 | | 80 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
National
51.88%
Labour
47.16%
Others
0.96% :
Parliament seats
National
57.50%
Labour
42.50% :

### Initial MPs

The table below shows the results of the 1949 general election:
Key
Labour  National
Electorate results for the 1949 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Arch Hill | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 5,174 | Gordon Frederick Smith |
| Ashburton | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | 2,385 | William Erle Rose |
| Auckland Central | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 2,799 | Leonard Bradley |
| Avon | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 4,593 | George Nelson Kinzett |
| Awarua | George Richard Herron | George Richard Herron | George Richard Herron | 3,179 | Neville Pickering |
| Bay of Plenty | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | 3,680 | Thomas Godfrey Santon |
| Brooklyn | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 2,956 | Berta Burns |
| Buller | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 2,206 | Phil McDonald |
| Central Otago | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | 3,906 | Thomas Augustus Rodgers |
| Christchurch Central | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 3,637 | Kevin Marlow |
| Clutha | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 3,231 | John Edward Keenan |
| Dunedin Central | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | 989 | David Murdoch |
| Dunedin North | Robert Walls | Robert Walls | Robert Walls | 668 | Richard Brickell |
| Eden | Wilfred Fortune | Wilfred Fortune | Wilfred Fortune | 2,259 | Pat Curran |
| Egmont | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | 4,539 | Brian Edgar Richmond |
| Fendalton | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | 4,076 | Robert Newman |
| Franklin | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | 5,481 | John Parsons |
| Gisborne | David Coleman | | Reginald Keeling | 489 | Harry Dudfield |
| Grey Lynn | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | 4,203 | John Leon Faulkner |
| Hamilton | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | 1,605 | Jack Granville |
| Hastings | Ted Cullen | | Sydney Jones | 982 | Ted Cullen |
| Hauraki | Andy Sutherland | Andy Sutherland | Andy Sutherland | 3,944 | Percival Peacock |
| Hawke's Bay | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 3,442 | Dick Beattie |
| Hobson | Sidney Walter Smith | Sidney Walter Smith | Sidney Walter Smith | 5,068 | William Edmund Lane |
| Hurunui | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | 2,535 | Arthur J. Smith |
| Hutt | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 2,273 | Horace Leonard Heatley |
| Invercargill | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | 1,159 | William Denham |
| Island Bay | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | 2,770 | Herbert Edward Childs |
| Karori | Charles Bowden | Charles Bowden | Charles Bowden | 3,585 | Ethel Harris |
| Lyttelton | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | Terry McCombs | 978 | Richard Ralph Beauchamp |
| Manawatu | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | 3,433 | Basil A. Rodgers |
| Marlborough | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 1,862 | James Harrison Wilson |
| Marsden | Alfred Murdoch | Alfred Murdoch | Alfred Murdoch | 3,276 | Douglas L. Ross |
| Miramar | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | 1,315 | Cuthbert Taylor |
| Mornington | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | 4,185 | Geoffrey Stephens |
| Mount Albert | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 931 | Reg Judson |
| Mount Victoria | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | 1,808 | Nathan Seddon |
| Napier | Tommy Armstrong | Tommy Armstrong | Tommy Armstrong | 721 | William Tucker |
| Nelson | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | 1,373 | Reynell Marshall |
| New Plymouth | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | 1,517 | Clarence Robert Parker |
| North Shore | Martyn Finlay | | Dean Eyre | 1,344 | Martyn Finlay |
| Oamaru | Arnold Nordmeyer | | Thomas Hayman | 694 | Arnold Nordmeyer |
| Onehunga | Arthur Osborne | Arthur Osborne | Arthur Osborne | 2,300 | Alan A. Coates |
| Onslow | Harry Combs | Harry Combs | Harry Combs | 1,927 | John S. Meadowcroft |
| Otahuhu | Charles Petrie | | Leon Götz | 1,275 | Alex Dixon |
| Otaki | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | 374 | Denzil Capstick |
| Pahiatua | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 4,507 | G P O'Leary |
| Palmerston North | Ormond Wilson | | Blair Tennent | 518 | Ormond Wilson |
| Parnell | Duncan Rae | Duncan Rae | Duncan Rae | 960 | Bill Schramm |
| Patea | William Sheat | William Sheat | William Sheat | 1,841 | Frederick William Finer |
| Petone | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | 2,527 | Norm Croft |
| Piako | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | 6,266 | Gilbert Parsons Kenah |
| Ponsonby | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | 2,278 | Brian Kingston |
| Raglan | Alan Baxter | | Hallyburton Johnstone | 1,022 | Alan Baxter |
| Rangitikei | Edward Gordon | Edward Gordon | Edward Gordon | 3,310 | Eric De Malmanche |
| Remuera | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | 5,079 | Hugh Watt |
| Riccarton | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | 2,707 | Harry Lake |
| Rodney | Clifton Webb | Clifton Webb | Clifton Webb | 4,546 | Arthur Leaming |
| Roskill | Frank Langstone | | John Rae | 1,415 | James Freeman |
| St Albans | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | 1,142 | George Manning |
| St Kilda | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | Fred Jones | 331 | Gerald Lyon |
| Selwyn | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | 1,327 | Alan Sharp |
| Sydenham | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 5,643 | Oliver G. Moody |
| Tamaki | Tom Skinner | | Eric Halstead | 1,095 | Tom Skinner |
| Tauranga | Frederick Doidge | Frederick Doidge | Frederick Doidge | 4,595 | Hillary Joseph Pickett |
| Timaru | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 832 | Jack Lockington |
| Waikato | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | 5,923 | John Ronald Burfitt |
| Waimarino | Paddy Kearins | Paddy Kearins | Paddy Kearins | 202 | Arthur Herbert MacPherson |
| Waimate | David Campbell Kidd | David Campbell Kidd | David Campbell Kidd | 1,767 | Roy Davison |
| Wairarapa | Garnet Mackley | | Bert Cooksley | 963 | George Anders Hansen |
| Waitakere | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 930 | Robert Tapper |
| Waitomo | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | 5,079 | Frank Kitts |
| Wallace | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | 4,511 | Herman Victor Freeman |
| Wanganui | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 1,019 | Ernest Victor O'Keefe |
| Wellington Central | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | 575 | Will Appleton |
| Westland | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | 2,744 | Patrick Joseph O'Regan |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | 3,211 | Turi Carroll |
| Northern Maori | Tapihana Paraire Paikea | Tapihana Paraire Paikea | Tapihana Paraire Paikea | 2,029 | James Henare |
| Southern Maori | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 687 | Huro Nathanial Bates |
| Western Maori | vacant | | Iriaka Rātana | 6,317 | Hoeroa Marumaru |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Matiu Ratana, the previous holder of the Western Maori electorate, died on 7 October 1949. His wife Iriaka Rātana stood for election instead.