1967 Southern Maori by-election


The Southern Māori by-election of 1967 was a by-election for the electorate of Southern Maori on 11 March 1967 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Sir Eruera Tirikatene on 11 January 1967.
The by-election was won by his daughter Whetu Tirikatene, also of the Labour Party.

Candidates

;Labour
The Labour Party chose Whetu Tirikatene as its candidate. She was a Maori welfare worker in Wellington and the daughter of Sir Eruera Tirikatene. In the 1966 election she was the Labour candidate in the electorate.
;National
Flight Lieutenant Mafeking Baden Powell Pere was chosen by the National Party. He was a jet pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force based at Wigram Aerodrome. Pere had contested the Southern Maori seat in the previous election.
;Social Credit
The Social Credit Party selected James Hugh MacDonald, a lineman from Blenheim as its candidate. He had contested the Southern Maori seat at the 1966 election.

Results

The following table gives the election results:
Tirikatene was elected with a huge majority, becoming the youngest woman to have been elected to Parliament to that time. Contrary to normal trends the candidate from the incumbent party increased their vote and majority. Leader of the Opposition Norman Kirk said he was encouraged by the result due to the swing to Labour being consistent across the electorate, which covered the area of 40 general seats, many of which were marginal. It also encompassed the seats of and, both of which had pending by-elections.