The 1944 Christchurch City mayoral election was held on 27 May. The incumbent was Ernest Andrews of the conservative Citizens' Association. Andrews was challenged by his predecessor, Robert Macfarlane, of the Labour Party, who had returned from active war service. Andrews won by a large majority.
Background
Andrews was the only person who sought nomination from the Citizens' Association. His candidacy for the group was decided on 17 February 1944. Macfarlane had been the mayor from 1938 to 1941, and had not stood in the previous election as he wanted to go to war. He was discharged from the army after serving in the Middle East for two and a half years due to ill health. When Andrews' nomination was announced, the local newspaper The Press stated that the Labour Party had yet to make its selection, but that "it is said to be certain" that Macfarlane would be their candidate. Three Labour candidates sought nomination: Macfarlane, Mabel Howard. Macfarlane's selection was announced on 17 March 1944.
Candidates
Ernest Andrews
Ernest Herbert Andrews was a senior city councillor whose candidacy was announced on 17 February 1944. Andrews had been born in 1873 near Nelson. He had studied at Canterbury University College and had been a school teacher in various parts of the country before settling in Christchurch with a printing business in 1907. A representative cricketer, he was involved with numerous organisations. He had continuously been a member of Christchurch City Council since 1919, had chaired almost every council committee, and had been deputy-mayor under John Beanland. He had first stood for mayor in the 1941 local election and was the incumbent.
Robert Macfarlane
Macfarlane was born in Christchurch in 1900. Raised by his grandmother, he attended Waltham School and may have had two years of high school. He worked in various labour job. In 1918, he joined the Christchurch Socialist Party and became its president shortly after. In 1919, he joined the Christchurch South branch of the Labour Party. When the Christchurch East branch of the Labour Party was founding in 1922, Macfarlane became its inaugural secretary. In 1925, he became secretary of the North Canterbury Labour Representation Committee. He was first elected onto Christchurch City Council in 1927 but failed to get re-elected in 1929. In the 1935 general election, he stood in the Christchurch North electorate and got narrowly beaten by Sidney Holland. He regained a seat on Christchurch City Council in a by-election in 1936. He was Mayor of Christchurch from 1938 to 1941, and had continuously represented the Christchurch South since 1939 despite his lengthy absence due to war service.
Results
The election was held on Saturday, 27 May 1944, from 9am to 6pm. For the first time, enrolment had become compulsory, although voting itself was not compulsory. There were five separate elections for Christchurch people: mayor, city council, the North Canterbury Hospital Board, and the Lyttelton Harbour Board, and the North Canterbury Catchment Board. The first-past-the-post voting system was used and absentee voting was not allowed for. There were 23 polling booths in Christchurch Central and Richmond, 23 polling booths across Linwood, Woolston, and Mount Pleasant, 26 polling booths across St Albans and Papanui, 31 polling booths across Sydenham and Spreydon, 1 polling booth in Lyttelton, and 6 polling booths in New Brighton; a total of 110 booths. In addition, there were a total of 8 polling booths in Riccarton and Sumner for the North Canterbury Catchment Board election. Andrews had a significant majority, getting 22,765 votes compared to Macfarlane's 13,702. The last time there had been such a clear majority was at the 1925 mayoral election. The turnout for the mayoral election was circa 46.4 percent.
In mid-May 1944, the Electors' Association formed itself as a body for independent candidates. The election saw the Labour Party gain just one seat on the city council, with three of their sitting members defeated. Four councillors for the Citizens' Association were elected for the first time. In the table below the final voting numbers reported as final are shown. The last six placing candidates lost their NZ£3 deposit.
