25th New Zealand Parliament

The 25th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 25 March 1936, following the 1935 election. It was dissolved on 16 September 1938 in preparation for the 1938 election.

25th Parliament of New Zealand
← 24th Parliament 26th Parliament →
Parliament House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	25 March 1936 – 26 August 1938
Election	1935 New Zealand general election
Government	First Labour Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Bill Barnard
Prime Minister	Michael Joseph Savage
Leader of the Opposition	Adam Hamilton — George Forbes until 2 November 1936
Legislative Council
Members	39 (at start) 38 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	Sir Walter Carncross
Leader of the Council	Mark Fagan
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George VI — HM Edward VIII until 11 December 1936
Governor-General	HE Rt. Hon. The Viscount Galway
Sessions
1st 25 March 1936 – 31 October 1936 2nd 9 September 1937 – 15 March 1938 3rd 28 June 1938 – 16 September 1938

The 25th Parliament was notable in that it was the first time the Labour Party had a parliamentary majority and formed a government, the First Labour Government. The new Prime Minister was Michael Joseph Savage. The opposition consisted of the United Party and the Reform Party, which merged to form the National Party in 1936.

The 25th Parliament consisted of eighty representatives, each elected from separate geographical electorates. As the 1935 elections had been a landslide victory for the Labour Party, the 25th Parliament was dominated by Labour MPs — 53 of the 80 were members of the Labour Party. The main opposition consisted of a coalition of the Reform Party, the United Party, and three independents, having a total of 19 MPs. Part way through the 25th Parliament, Reform and United took their coalition to the next step, and merged into a single group. This was called the National Party. The smaller Country Party and Rātana movement had two MPs each, and there were four independents not aligned with the coalition. The Democrat Party, despite winning a significant portion of the vote, did not hold any seats.

Electoral boundaries

Ministries

The 24th Parliament had been led by a coalition of the Reform Party and the United Party, formed in September 1931 during the term of the 23rd Parliament and led by George Forbes.^[1] The primary opposition had been the Labour Party.

At the 1935 election, the Labour Party obtained a parliamentary majority and formed a government, the First Labour Government. The leader of the Labour Party, Michael Joseph Savage, became Prime Minister.^[2] The opposition consisted of the United Party and the Reform Party, which merged in 1936 during the term of the 25th Parliament to form the National Party. The Savage Ministry was in power until Savage's death on 27 March 1940.^[3]

Party standings

1935-36

	Party	Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Labour Party	Michael Joseph Savage	53
	Reform Party	Gordon Coates	9
	United Party	George Forbes	7
	Country Party	Harold Rushworth	2
	Ratana	Eruera Tirikatene	2
	Independents		7

1936-38

	Party	Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Labour Party	Michael Joseph Savage	55
	National Party	Adam Hamilton	19
	Country Party	Harold Rushworth	2
	Independents		4

Members

Members of the 25th New Zealand Parliament, the Sergeant-at-arms and the Clerk of the House.

Initial MPs

The following table shows the detailed results:

Key

  Labour   Independent   United   Reform   United/Reform   Democrat   Ratana   Country Party

Electorate results for the 1935 New Zealand general election^[4]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central		Bill Parry			5,301[5]		Clifford Reid Dodd[6]
Auckland East		Bill Schramm			2,337[7]		Harold Percy Burton[8]
Auckland Suburbs		Rex Mason			4,896[5]		William Alexander Bishop[9]
Auckland West		Michael Joseph Savage			6,180[10]		Ernest David Stallworthy[11]
Avon		Dan Sullivan			5,410[12]		Lancelot Charles Walker
Awarua		Philip De La Perrelle		James Hargest[nb 1]	950[14]		Thomas Francis Doyle
Bay of Islands		Harold Rushworth			2,121[15]		Clive Cameron
Bay of Plenty		vacant[nb 2]		Gordon Hultquist	555[17]		John Tom Merry[18]
Buller		Paddy Webb			4,499[19]		John H Powell[20]
Central Otago		William Bodkin			1,819[19]		Herbert Kerr Edie[21]
Chalmers		Alfred Ansell		Archie Campbell	1,071[14]		Alfred Ansell
Christchurch East		Tim Armstrong			5,728[5]		Sydney Richardson[22][23]
Christchurch North		Henry Holland		Sidney Holland	971[5]		Robert Macfarlane
Christchurch South		Ted Howard			5,585[5]		Tom Milliken[24][25]
Clutha		Peter McSkimming		James Roy[nb 3]	1,930[15]		Rev. Edwin Thoms Cox[26]
Dunedin Central		Charles Statham		Peter Neilson	1,729[14]		Donald Cameron[27]
Dunedin North		Jim Munro			1,668[15]		Alexander Smith Falconer[28][29][30][31]
Dunedin South		Fred Jones			3,378[17]		Stuart Sidey
Dunedin West		William Downie Stewart		Gervan McMillan	945[32]		William Downie Stewart[33]
Eden		Arthur Stallworthy		Bill Anderton	2,465[32]		Arthur Stallworthy
Egmont		Charles Wilkinson			3,172[5]		James Ross[34]
Franklin		Jack Massey		Arthur Sexton	685[15]		Jack Massey
Gisborne		David Coleman			1,817[7]		Douglas Lysnar
Grey Lynn		John A. Lee			8,012[32]		George Wildish[35]
Hamilton		Alexander Young		Charles Barrell	1,391[15]		Alexander Young
Hauraki		Walter William Massey		Charles Robert Petrie	544[36]		Walter William Massey
Hawke's Bay		Hugh Campbell		Ted Cullen	1,010[14]		Hugh Campbell
Hurunui		George Forbes			1,203[5]		Donald Cyrus Davie[37]
Hutt		Walter Nash			7,757[7]		Victor Emmanuel Jacobson[38]
Invercargill		James Hargest		William Denham	346[14]		Gordon Reed[39]
Kaiapoi		Richard Hawke		Morgan Williams	1,424[14]		Richard Hawke
Kaipara		Gordon Coates			302[15]		William Grounds
Lyttelton		Terry McCombs			2,775[7]		Seton Fulton Marshall[40][41]
Manawatu		Joseph Linklater		Lorrie Hunter	60[19]		Joseph Linklater
Manukau		Bill Jordan			6,402[32]		Herbert Jenner Wily[42]
Marsden		Alfred Murdoch		Jim Barclay	347[5]		Alfred Murdoch
Masterton		George Sykes		John Robertson	325[17]		George Sykes
Mataura		David McDougall			1,658[5]		Thomas Golden[43]
Mid-Canterbury		vacant[nb 4]		Horace Herring	462[5]		James Carr[45]
Motueka		Keith Holyoake			280[14]		Rubert York[46][47]
Napier		Bill Barnard			4,057[48]		Frank Bannerman Logan
Nelson		Harry Atmore			2,610[15]		Herbert Everett[49]
New Plymouth		Sydney George Smith			831[14]		Fred Frost
Oamaru		John Andrew MacPherson		Arnold Nordmeyer	1,142[14]		John Andrew MacPherson
Oroua		John Cobbe			2,333[15]		William Henry Oliver[nb 5]
Otaki		William Hughes Field		Leonard Lowry	1,720[19]		G. A. Monk[51]
Pahiatua		Alfred Ransom			1,175[5]		R A Gower
Palmerston		Jimmy Nash		Joe Hodgens	115[52]		Gus Mansford
Parnell		Bill Endean			731[36]		Arthur Osborne
Patea		Harold Dickie			649[14]		W G Simpson
Raglan		Lee Martin			1,695[14]		Stewart Reid[53]
Rangitikei		Alexander Stuart		Ormond Wilson	907[54]		Alexander Stuart
Riccarton		Bert Kyle			1,139[5]		G T Thurston
Roskill		Arthur Shapton Richards			4,023[36]		Thomas James Fleming[11]
Rotorua		Cecil Clinkard		Alexander Moncur	1,452[15]		Frederick Doidge
Stratford		William Polson[nb 6]			339[15]		Philip Skoglund
Tauranga		Charles Macmillan		Charles Burnett	41[19]		Charles Macmillan
Temuka		Thomas Burnett			605[15]		Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames		Albert Samuel		Jim Thorn	1,262[36]		Albert Samuel
Timaru		Clyde Carr			1,059[14]		W Thomas
Waimarino		Frank Langstone			1,863[15]		Cecil Boles
Waipawa		Albert Jull		Max Christie	259[14]		Albert Jull
Waikato		Frederick Lye		Robert Coulter	784[54]		Frederick Lye
Wairarapa		Alex McLeod		Ben Roberts	33[14]		John Wiltshire Card[55][56]
Wairau		Edward Healy		Ted Meachen	352[5]		Edward Healy
Waitaki		John Bitchener		David Barnes	479[33]		John Bitchener
Waitemata		Alexander Harris		Jack Lyon	2,684[5]		Alexander Harris
Waitomo		Walter Broadfoot			1,526[15]		Jack Jones[57]
Wallace		Adam Hamilton			2,034[5]		Lawrence Edmond[58]
Wanganui		Bill Veitch		Joe Cotterill	1,569[5]		Bill Veitch
Wellington Central		Peter Fraser			4,479[15]		Will Mason[59]
Wellington East		Bob Semple			3,323[5]		Ossie Mazengarb
Wellington North		Charles Chapman			794[7]		Elizabeth Gilmer[60]
Wellington South		Robert McKeen			6,059[5]		Henry Featherston Toogood[38][56]
Wellington Suburbs		Robert Wright			1,856[5]		Peter Butler[38]
Westland		James O'Brien			3,677[15]		H R Young[61]
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata			3,224[15]		Tiaki Omana
Northern Maori		Taurekareka Hēnare			983[15]		Paraire Karaka Paikea
Southern Maori		Eruera Tirikatene			43[15]		Thomas Kaiporohu Bragg
Western Maori		Taite Te Tomo		Toko Ratana	47[62]		Taite Te Tomo

Table footnotes:

1. James Hargest ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the Reform Party^[13]
2. Kenneth Williams, the previous representative, died two days prior to the election^[16]
3. James Roy ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the United–Reform Coalition
4. Jeremiah Connolly, the previous representative, died just prior to the election^[44]
5. Father of the historian W. H. Oliver^[50]
6. William Polson ran as an Independent, but was aligned to the United–Reform Coalition

By-elections during 25th Parliament

There was one by-election during the term of the 25th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Manukau	1936	30 September[63]		Bill Jordan	Appointed High Commissioner, UK		Arthur Osborne

Summary of changes

• Bill Jordan, the Labour MP for Manukau, resigned in 1936 to become the New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He was replaced by Arthur Osborne, also of the Labour Party.
• In 1936, the Reform Party and the United Party merged, becoming the National Party. The three independents who supported the Reform-United coalition (James Hargest, William Polson and James Roy) also joined the new group.