1954 New Zealand general election
{{short description|none}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1954 New Zealand general election
| country = New Zealand
| flag_year = 1954
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1951 New Zealand general election
| previous_year = 1951
| previous_members = 30th New Zealand Parliament
| next_election = 1957 New Zealand general election
| next_year = 1957
| next_members = 32nd New Zealand Parliament
| seats_for_election = All 80 seats in the House of Representatives
41 seats were needed for a majority
| election_date = {{Start date|1954|11|13|df=y}}
| elected_mps = elected members
| turnout = 1,096,877 (91.4%) {{increase}}
| image1 = 200x200px
| leader1 = Sidney Holland
| leader_since1 = 26 November 1940
| party1 = New Zealand National Party
| leaders_seat1 = Fendalton
| last_election1 = 50 seats, 54.0%
| seats1 = 45
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 5
| popular_vote1 = 485,630
| percentage1 = 44.3%
| swing1 = {{decrease}} 9.7%
| image2 = 200x200px
| leader2 = Walter Nash
| leader_since2 = 17 January 1951
| party2 = New Zealand Labour Party
| leaders_seat2 = Hutt
| last_election2 = 30 seats, 45.8%
| seats2 = 35
| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 5
| popular_vote2 = 484,028
| percentage2 = 44.1%
| swing2 = {{decrease}} 1.7%
| map_image = 1954 New Zealand general election - Results.svg
| map_size = 400px
| map_caption = Results of the election.
| title = Prime Minister
| posttitle = Subsequent Prime Minister
| before_election = Sidney Holland
| after_election = Sidney Holland
| before_party = New Zealand National Party
| after_party = New Zealand National Party
}}
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
Background
The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections. It had then been re-elected by a large margin amid the industrial disputes of the 1951 election. The Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, was popular in many sectors of society for his strong line against striking dockworkers and coalminers, while Labour's leader, Walter Nash, had been criticised for his failure to take a firm stand on the issue. Labour was troubled by internal disputes, with Nash subjected to an unsuccessful leadership challenge only a few months before the election.{{sfn|Sinclair|1976|pp=292-4}} For the election, the National government adopted a "steady as she goes" approach, saying that the country was in good hands and did not need any major policy realignments.
Nash tried to make the election about the issue of cost-of-living with most of Labour's campaign promises being financial policies. He frequently highlighted the fact that in 1949 National had promised to "make the pound go further" but five years on what cost £1 (20 shillings) now cost 28 shillings. Labour's campaign promises included raising the child allowance to 15 shillings a week, housing loans with only 3% interest and the introduction of a PAYE income taxation system.{{sfn|Sinclair|1976|p=294}} After a slow start to his campaign, things improved for Nash towards the end of his campaign. This was evidenced by his audiences becoming more enthusiastic such as one meeting held at the Auckland Town Hall where a crowd of 10,000 impatiently telling the first speaker, trade union president Fintan Patrick Walsh, to sit down and a chant of "we want Walter" breaking out.{{sfn|Sinclair|1976|pp=294-5}}
The Social Credit campaign meetings aroused far more public interest than those of the main parties. A common public perception was Labour and National were increasingly close to each other on policies compared to the substantial policy differences in the 1930s. In an attempt to counter the public enthusiasm to Social Credit, Labour promised mid-campaign to make the state the sole authority for the issue of credit and currency.{{sfn|Sinclair|1976|p=294}}
The election
The date for the main 1954 elections was 13 November. 1,209,670 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 91.4%. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
The following new (or reconstituted) electorates were introduced in 1954: Heretaunga, {{NZ electorate link|Manukau}}, Rotorua, Stratford, Waipa and Waitemata.{{sfn|Norton|1988|pp=7–9}} Two candidates, both called John Stewart, came second; in {{NZ electorate link|Auckland Central}} for National and in {{NZ electorate link|Eden}} for Labour.{{sfn|Norton|1988|pp=193, 220}}
=MPs retiring in 1954=
Ten MPs retired at the election, see cartoon.{{cite web|url= https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22787418?search%5Bi%5D%5Bname_authority_id%5D=-286379&search%5Bpath%5D=items |title= The First Eleven (retiring MPs) |publisher=National Library of New Zealand }}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=2| Party | Name | Electorate |
|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: {{party color|Independent}}" | | Patea | |
| rowspan=8 style="background-color: {{party color|New Zealand National Party}}" |
| rowspan=8| National | Central Otago | |
| Wilfred Fortune | Eden | |
| Andy Sutherland | Hauraki | |
| Chales Bowden | Karori | |
| Alfred Murdoch | Marsden | |
| Edward Gordon | Rangitīkei | |
| Clifton Webb | Rodney | |
| Walter Broadfoot | Waitomo | |
| rowspan=3 style="background-color: {{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}}" |
| rowspan=3| Labour | Island Bay | |
| Bob Semple | Miramar | |
| Charles Chapman | Wellington Central |
Paddy Kearins also left parliament at the election. His electorate of {{NZ electorate link|Waimarino}} was abolished and he failed to gain selection to stand for Labour in the replacement electorate of {{NZ electorate link|Rotorua}}.{{cite news |title=Party Influence Alleged In Candidate's Selection |work=The Evening Post |date=2 October 1954 }} Two Labour MPs had announced their intention to retire at the 1954 election (Harry Combs MP for Onslow and Arthur Osborne MP for Onehunga) but died before the end of the parliament.{{cite news |title=Mr. H. E. Combs, M.P., Dead |work=The Evening Post |date=12 June 1954 |page=13 }}{{cite news |title=Mr Osborne Dies After Long Illness |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=16 November 1953 |page=10 }}
Results
The 1954 election saw the governing National Party re-elected with a ten-seat margin, a drop from the twenty-seat margin it previously held. National won forty-five seats to the Labour Party's thirty-five. The popular vote was much closer, however, with the two parties separated by only 0.2% (1,602 votes). On preliminary results Labour was leading in 37 seats and was actually ahead of National in the popular vote by 0.33%.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19541115.2.59 |title=Government Wins Election – Labour Gains Seven Seats |work=The Press |date=15 November 1954 |volume=XC |issue=27507 |page=10 }} No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents, but the new Social Credit Party managed to win 11.2% of the vote, and it can be argued that Social Credit saved the National Government by providing an alternative to Labour and so minimising the two-party swing.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=66}} Nash argued that Social Credit's impact on the election was being a spoiler, claiming Labour was denied victory because of this.{{cite news |title=Mr Nash Says Labour Will Continue Fight – A Statement Amended |work=The New Zealand Herald |page=9 |date=15 November 1954 }}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
!colspan=7|center |
| colspan=7| Election results |
|---|
| colspan=2|Party
!Candidates !Total votes !Percentage !Seats won !change |
| align=right
| {{Party color cell|New Zealand National Party}} |align=left |National |79 |485,630 |44.3 |45 | −5 |
| align=right
|{{Party color cell|New Zealand Labour Party}} |align=left |Labour |80 |484,028 |44.1 |35 | +5 |
| align=right
| {{Party color cell|Social Credit Party (New Zealand)}} |align=left |Social Credit |79 |122,573 |11.2 | 0 | ±0 |
| align=right
| {{Party color cell|Communist Party of New Zealand}} |align=left |Communist |8 |1,134 |0.1 | 0 | ±0 |
| align=right
| {{Party color cell|Independent politician}} |align=left |Independents |9 |3,474 | 0.3 | 0 | ±0 |
| bgcolor=
|colspan=2 align=left|Total |255 |1,096,877 | |80 | |
=Votes summary=
{{bar box
| title=Popular vote
| titlebar=#ddd
| width=600px
| barwidth=410px
| bars=
{{bar percent|National|{{party color|New Zealand National Party}}|44.27}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}}|44.13}}
{{bar percent|Social Credit|{{party color|Social Credit Party (New Zealand)}}|11.17}}
{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.43}}
}}
{{bar box
| title=Parliament seats
| titlebar=#ddd
| width=600px
| barwidth=410px
| bars=
{{bar percent|National|{{party color|New Zealand National Party}}|56.25}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}}|43.75}}
}}
The table below shows the results of the 1954 general election:
Key
{{Party index link|New Zealand National Party}}
{{Party index link|New Zealand Labour Party}}
{{Party index link|Independent politician}}
{{Party index link|Social Credit Party (New Zealand)}}
{{NZ electorate result start|Electorate results for the 1954 New Zealand general election{{sfn|Norton|1988|pp=?}}
}}
|-
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | General electorates
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Ashburton
|incumbent = Geoff Gerard
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,292
|second = George Glassey
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Auckland Central
|incumbent = Bill Anderton
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,093
|second = John Weir Stewart
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Avon
|incumbent = John Mathison
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,955
|second = Arthur Norman Stone
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Awarua
|incumbent = George Herron
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,172
|second = J P Wyatt
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Bay of Plenty
|incumbent = Bill Sullivan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,062
|second = Godfrey Santon
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Buller
|incumbent = Jerry Skinner
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,348
|second = Derisly Manwell Carson
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Central Otago
|incumbent = William Bodkin
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Jack George
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,074
|second = Peter John Scott
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Christchurch Central
|incumbent = Robert Macfarlane
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,395
|second = Oliver G. Moody
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Clutha
|incumbent = James Roy
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,490
|second = T A Rodgers
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Dunedin Central
|incumbent = Phil Connolly
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 330
|second = Marcus Anderson
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Dunedin North
|incumbent = Ethel McMillan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,791
|second = Helen Black{{sfn|Norton|1988|p=214}}
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Eden
|incumbent = Wilfred Fortune
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Duncan Rae
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 8
|second = John Stewart{{refn|group=nb|John Stewart was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Egmont
|incumbent = Ernest Corbett
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,977
|second = Roy Evans{{sfn|Norton|1988|p=222}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Fendalton
|incumbent = Sidney Holland
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,004
|second = Roy Henry McDonald
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Franklin
|incumbent = Jack Massey
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 4,587
|second = Percival Peacock
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Gisborne
|incumbent = Harry Dudfield
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Reginald Keeling
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 521
|second = Harry Dudfield
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Grey Lynn
|incumbent = Fred Hackett
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,807
|second = Tom McGowan
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hamilton
|incumbent = Hilda Ross
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,430
|second = Ben Waters
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Hastings
|incumbent = Sydney Jones
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Ted Keating
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 252
|second = Sydney Jones
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
|-
| Hauraki
| style="background-color:{{party color|New Zealand National Party}};" |
| style="text-align:center;" | Andy Sutherland
| style="background-color:{{party color|New Zealand National Party}};" |
| style="text-align:center;background-color:{{New Zealand National Party/meta/shading}};" | Arthur Kinsella
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,659
| style="background-color:{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}};" |
| style="text-align:center;" | Brevat William Dynes
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hawkes Bay
|incumbent = Cyril Harker
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,109
|second = A Stafford
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Heretaunga
|winner = Phil Holloway
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 5,058
|second = Allan McCready
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hobson
|incumbent = Sidney Smith
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,584
|second = Cecil William Elvidge
|second-party = Social Credit Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hurunui
|incumbent = William Gillespie
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,395
|second = Norman Kirk
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hutt
|incumbent = Walter Nash
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,681
|second = Clevedon Costello
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Invercargill
|incumbent = Ralph Hanan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 943
|second = William Denham
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Island Bay
|incumbent = Robert McKeen
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|winner = Arnold Nordmeyer
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,824
|second = John Maurice Whitta
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Karori
|incumbent = Charles Bowden
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Jack Marshall
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,811
|second = Jim Bateman
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Lyttelton
|incumbent = Harry Lake
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 24
|second = Tom McGuigan{{refn|group=nb|Tom McGuigan was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Manawatu
|incumbent = Matthew Oram
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,228
|second = Patrick Kelliher
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Manukau
|winner = Leon Götz
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,072
|second = Cyril Stamp
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Marlborough
|incumbent = Tom Shand
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,635
|second = George Allan Turner
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Marsden
|incumbent = Alfred Murdoch
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Don McKay
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 872
|second = Mervyn Allan Hosking {{refn|group=nb|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.{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=235}}}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Miramar
|incumbent = Bob Semple
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|winner = Bill Fox
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,527
|second = Robert John McConnell
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate= Mornington
|incumbent= Wally Hudson
|incumbent-party= New Zealand Labour Party
|majority= 3,886
|second= Walter MacDougall
|second-party= New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Mt Albert
|incumbent = Warren Freer
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,226
|second = Robert Muldoon
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Napier
|incumbent = Peter Tait
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Jim Edwards
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 720
|second = Peter Tait
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Nelson
|incumbent = Edgar Neale
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 717
|second = Stan Whitehead
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = New Plymouth
|incumbent = Ernest Aderman
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,178
|second = Clarence Robert Parker
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = North Shore
|incumbent = Dean Eyre
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,395
|second = Arthur Faulkner
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Oamaru
|incumbent = Thomas Hayman
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,358
|second = J H Rapson
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Onehunga
|incumbent = Hugh Watt
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,389
|second = Alfred E. Allen
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Onslow
|incumbent = Henry May
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 519
|second = Wilfred Fortune
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Otahuhu
|incumbent = Leon Götz
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = James Deas
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,806
|second = Leonard Bradley
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Otaki
|incumbent = Jimmy Maher
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 963
|second = Ernie Langford
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Pahiatua
|incumbent = Keith Holyoake
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,519
|second = Ronald Bell
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Palmerston North
|incumbent = Blair Tennent
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Philip Skoglund
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 346
|second = Blair Tennant
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Patea
|incumbent = William Sheat
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|winner = Roy Jack
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 662
|second = Benjamin Winchcombe
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Petone
|incumbent = Mick Moohan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,211
|second = Fanny Elizabeth Soward
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Ponsonby
|incumbent = Ritchie Macdonald
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,948
|second = Harold Barry
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Raglan
|incumbent = Hallyburton Johnstone
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 857
|second = James Harrison Wilson
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Rangitikei
|incumbent = Edward Gordon
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Norman Shelton
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,679
|second = Stephen Malcolm Roberton
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Remuera
|incumbent = Ronald Algie
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,544
|second = Bob Tizard
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Riccarton
|incumbent = Angus McLagan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,343
|second = Balfour Grieve Dingwall
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Rodney
|incumbent = Clifton Webb
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = Jack Scott
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,270
|second = Arthur Hellyn
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Roskill
|incumbent = John Rae
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,652
|second = Elizabeth Morris
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Rotorua
|winner = Ray Boord
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 822
|second = Percy Allen
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = St Albans
|incumbent = Jack Watts
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 608
|second = Mick Connelly
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = St Kilda
|incumbent = Jim Barnes
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 114
|second = Fred Jones
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Selwyn
|incumbent = John McAlpine
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,521
|second = Daniel Clinton
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Stratford
|winner = Thomas Murray
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 2,966
|second = Brian Edgar Richmond
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Sydenham
|incumbent = Mabel Howard
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 5,560
|second = Alma Schumacher
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Tamaki
|incumbent = Eric Halstead
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,986
|second = Pat Curran
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Tauranga
|incumbent = George Walsh
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 3,448
|second = Oliver Liddell
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Timaru
|incumbent = Clyde Carr
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,423
|second = Vic Wilson
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waikato
|incumbent = Geoffrey Sim
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 4,698
|second = Albert Clifford Tucker
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Waimate
|incumbent = (vacant){{refn|group=nb|David Campbell Kidd, the National Party MP for Waimate, died less than two months before the election, leaving his seat vacant.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=210}}}}
|incumbent-party =
|winner = Alfred Davey
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,438
|second = Neville Pickering
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Waipa
|winner = Stan Goosman
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 4,435
|second = Harold Francis Gallagher
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wairarapa
|incumbent = Bert Cooksley
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,691
|second = Bob Wilkie{{cite news| url= http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/politics/interview-labour-deputy-grant-robertson/ | title=Profile: Labour deputy Grant Robertson | work=New Zealand Listener | date=3 March 2012 | access-date=26 September 2014 | author-link=Guyon Espiner |last=Espiner |first=Guyon}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waitakere
|incumbent = Rex Mason
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,424
|second = Jim McAllister
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result new
|electorate = Waitemata
|winner = Norman King
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 387
|second = Hubert Morrison
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Waitomo
|incumbent = Walter Broadfoot
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|winner = David Seath
|winner-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 1,480
|second = Vic Haines
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wallace
|incumbent = Tom Macdonald
|incumbent-party = New Zealand National Party
|majority = 4,466
|second = J W Cleary
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wanganui
|incumbent = Joe Cotterill
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 305
|second = Jack Rumbold
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Wellington Central
|incumbent = Charles Chapman
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|winner = Frank Kitts
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 627
|second = Allan Highet
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Westland
|incumbent = Jim Kent
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,605
|second = Mark Wallace
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
|-
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | Māori electorates
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Eastern Maori
|incumbent = Tiaki Omana
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,094
|second = Claude Anaru{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=353}}
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Northern Maori
|incumbent = Tapihana Paikea
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,435
|second = Tono Waetford
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Southern Maori
|incumbent = Eruera Tirikatene
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,864
|second = Turi Carroll
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Western Maori
|incumbent = Iriaka Rātana
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 6,637
|second = William Rakeipoho Bennett{{sfn|Gustafson|1986|p=355}}
|second-party = New Zealand National Party
}}
|}
;Table footnotes
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last = Gustafson |first = Barry |author-link = Barry Gustafson |title = The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party |year = 1986 |publisher = Reed Methuen |location = Auckland |isbn = 0-474-00177-6}}
- {{cite book |last = Norton |first = Clifford |title = New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science |year = 1988 |publisher = Victoria University of Wellington |location = Wellington |isbn = 0-475-11200-8 }}
- {{cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Sinclair |title=Walter Nash |year=1976 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Auckland |isbn=0-19-647949-5 }}
- {{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year=First published in 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc= 154283103}}
{{New Zealand elections}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 New Zealand general election}}