NATIONAL PARTY WINS AWARUA

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24401, 30 October 1944, Page 4

NATIONAL PARTY WINS AWARUA

Majority Of 2101 At By-Electjon MR HERRON NEW MEMBER (P.A.) INVERCARGILL, October 29. After one of the most keenly-fought by-elections fo» many years, the National Party retained the Awarua seat in the House of Representatives on Saturday by a majority of more than 2000. The final figures, including the votes of personnel in the forces in New Zealand and overseas, were:— G. Herron (National) .. 4659 L. S. O’Sullivan (Labour) 2558 . R. J. Henderson' (Real De- ’ mocracy) - .. ~.>249 Majority for' Herron .. . 2101 Mr Henderson lost his deposit. Mr Herron had majorities 'at 46 of 49 polling booths. The three exceptions were’ Bluff,. Greenhills’< (near Bluff), and Halfnioon.'Bay. ■ ; The poll was not a large', one. ■ A total of 7456 votes was cast; compared with a roll, number. Of 10,649.. AJaout 100 absentee-votes are yetto;.be’C»qnted. Service votes showed e tnajority for "Mr Herron, the figures being: Mr Herron 44. Mr O’Sullivan 37, Mr Henderson 2. The Awarua seat became vacant when Brigadier J. Hargest was killed while on active service in Normandy. Voting at the last two General Elections was:— „ , 1938. J. Hargest (N.) 5224. J. A. Beck (L.) 4564. Majority for -Hargest 660. 1935 J. Hargest (N.) 3851, J. F. Doyle (L.) 2701, L. A. Niederer (D.) 2182, N. Mclntyre (I.) 301. Majority for Hargest 950. ■ NEW MEMBER FOR AWARUA LONG ASSOCIATION WITH FARMING Mr G. R. Herron, who is 56 years of age, has been closely identified for many years with the dairy industry in Southland and has been organiser for the provincial executive of the Farmers 1 " Union. He started the first herdtesting group* in'the South Island at Pukefrau, where his father, and later he and his sons, were farming for many years.' They had a herd of 120 cows on the Pukerau' f&rm for 10 years', and it was to this herd that Mr Herron brought a testing plant from the North Island. He was president of the herd-testing group in. Southland for 15 years and president of the New Zealand Herd Testing Association for four years. For 17 years he was the assessor on the Conciliation Council, representing all cheese factory suppliers in the South Island. He served for 18 years on the committee of the Gore Agricultural and Pastoral Association and is a past president of this He was also a director of the Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association for 17 years and is-now vice-president of the association. Mr Herron is the seventh son of the late Mr Thomas Herron and was born at Pukerau. His parents came to New Zealand in the early sixties, his father from Northern Ireland and his mother from Scotland. < One of his brothers is the Rt. Rev. D. C. Herron, Moderator of the General Assembly of the-Pres-byterian Church of New Zealand, and another .is Detective-Sergeant- A. A. Herron, Christchurch. MR HOLLAND’S VIEW* OF BY-ELECTION “OVERWHELMING” DEFEAT OF LABOUR “The defeat of Labour at the Awarua by-election is too overwhelming to be explained awa.w by the. Government,” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S, G. Holland) yesterday. “The electorate judged most decisively between the Government’s past administration and promises for the future and the policy of the National Party. By a sweeping majority the programme of the National Party was endorsed.” There was much to be learned‘from the by-election, Mr Holland sald.;Awarua was a very mixed electorate, and included large fishing, waterfront, freezing, and industrial elements, especially at Bluff, Stewart Island, and the suburbs of Invercargill, and also many small farms in' the rural areas. On a poll so far recorded- of 2300 below that of the 1938 General Election, the National candidate had .raised a majority of 660 to a majority of 2101, the percentage of votes cast rising from 53 per cent, to 62 per cent. While Labour had a majority at eight booths in 1938, it secured a majority at only three booths on Saturday, and those booths recorded a swing away from Labour, the percentage of votes for the Government of 47 having dropped to just over 33. In the past the Labour Party had allowed several by-elections to go by default, but on this occasion it made no secret of its confidence in winning Awarua, and so checking the remarkable progress in other parts of the National Party, said Mr Holland. The Government had a capable candidate, and as he was supported by all its front-line speakers, including the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) and the Hon, 1 W. Nash, in every part of the electorate, it .could have no excuses this time. “Speaking during the campaign, the Prime Minister urged the electors of Awarua to think and to %tudy Labour's promises for the postwar years and then to decide if that was the type of Government they wanted,” Mr Holland said. “The people gave their answer in terms that cannot be misunderstood by anyone, for the National candidate and speakers discussed our plans for the future. “While we are naturally pleased with the result, the National Party will not be carried away by this latest vote of confidence. It will give us uncouragement to work harder than ever in our preparations for the task of government in 1946, if not sooner. Mr George Herron, the new member for Awarua. will be a valuable addition to the strength of the Opposition, and we shall now be able to register our full voting strength of 34 for the first time.” _____