1954 Patea by-election


The 1954 Patea by election was held on 31 July during the 30th New Zealand Parliament, and was caused by the resignation of incumbent National MP, William Sheat.

Background

William Sheat represented the electorate between and 1954 as a National MP, and as an independent, but in 1954, he failed to win reselection as a National Party candidate after boundary changes. On 14 May of that year, he promptly resigned his seat and won it back in the by-election as an Independent. He subsequently did not stand in the 1954 general election but was returned to Parliament in the as the MP for and he retired at the.
The writ for the by-election was originally issued on 3 June, but on 12 June Harry Combs died, necessitating a second by-election. The government preferred both by-elections to be held at the same time so in order to postpone the Patea poll the government passed the . However, as the Labour candidate in Onslow was unopposed he was declared elected when the writs closed, on 7 July.

Previous election

Results

The final vote count included 436 special votes, which were not included in the election-night results. Sheat's majority of 24 on election night was only 18 after the final count.