1977 Pahiatua by-election

New Zealand by-election

← 1975 general

30 April 1977 (1977-04-30)

1978 general →

Turnout

14,377 (68.49%)


Candidate	John Falloon	Alan Levatt
Party	National	Labour
Popular vote	9,059	4,280
Percentage	63.01	29.77

MP before election

Sir Keith Holyoake
National

Elected MP

John Falloon
National

The Pahiatua by-election of 1977 was a by-election for the electorate of Pahiatua on 30 April 1977 during the 38th New Zealand Parliament.

Background

The by-election resulted from the resignation of the previous member Sir Keith Holyoake when he was appointed Governor-General.

Candidates

Labour

The Labour Party had seven candidates including:^[1]

Trevor de Cleene, a Palmerston North City Councillor and Labour's candidate for Pahiatua in 1969
Dr Alan Levatt, a sociology lecturer at Victoria University
Paul Thornicroft, Labour's candidate for Pahiatua in 1975

Levatt, who earned his Ph.D. from Michigan University and had previously lectured in American universities, was selected as the candidate.^[1]

National

Five candidates were shortlisted for the National nomination.^[2]

Graham Percy Adam, a company director and former Mayor of Eketāhuna
Garth Cassidy, a managing director from Waipukurau and member of the Hawkes Bay Harbour Board
John Falloon, a farmer from Masterton and the meat and wool chairman for the Wairarapa branch of Federated Farmers
Hamish Kynoch, a farmer from Ashley Clinton and runner-up for Young Farmer of the Year in 1972
Weston Macpherson, a farmer and chairman of the Norsewood branch of Federated Farmers.

At a selection meeting in the Pahiatua Town Hall four ballots were taken of National members. Kynoch was initially the frontrunner to win the nomination and lead the voting until the final ballot which selected Falloon as the candidate.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Values

The Values Party selected Peter McHugh as its candidate. McHugh, a secondary school from Hastings, had stood as the Values candidate for Pahiatua in 1975.^[6]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1977 Pahiatua by-election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	John Falloon	9,059	63.01
	Labour	Allan Levett	4,280	29.77
	Social Credit	Graeme Hislop	844	5.87	-3.89
	Values	Peter McHugh	194	1.35	-2.18
Majority			4,779	33.24
Turnout			14,377	68.49	-16.12
Registered electors			20,993
	National hold		Swing

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Lecturer to bid for seat". The Press. 1 April 1977. p. 4.
^ "Five party hopefuls in Pahiatua". The Press. 26 March 1977. p. 6.
^ "Pahiatua candidate". The Press. 5 April 1977. p. 6.
^ Gustafson 1986, p. 371.
^ "Falloon named for Pahiatua". The Dominion. 5 April 1977. p. 1.
^ "Values Party candidate". The Press. 31 March 1977. p. 3.
^ Norton 1988, p. 305.

References

Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
Wood, G. A. (1996) [1987]. Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament (2 ed.). Dunedin: University of Otago Press. p. 113. ISBN 1-877133-00-0.
Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.