BAY OF ISLANDS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 112, 11 April 1929, Page 6

BAY OF ISLANDS.

RESULT OF BY-ELECTION. MR H. M. RUSHWORTH SUCCESSFUL. The by-election for the Bay of Islands seat, rendered necessary by the declaration by the Election Court that at tire previous contest Mr Rushworth was not duly elected, was held yesterday.and resulted as follows: H. M. Rushworth (Country ' Party) 4209 A. Bell (Independent Reform) ... ... 3720 Majority for Rushworth ... 489». There are approximately 356 absent votes and postal votes to be added, which cannot affect the result. Mr Rushworth sought Parliamentary honours at the 19118 general election, polling an equal number of votes with the sitting member, Mr A. Bell, for Bay of Islands. The returning officer gave his casting voce for the sitting member, but a magisterial recount was demanded, and this resulted in Mr Rushworth being declared elected by a majority of two votes. In December a petition was lodged, not claiming tho seat, but seeking, on behalf of Mr Bell, a determination that Mr Rushworth was not duly elected, and that the election be declared •void on the gorunds that certain votes counted as. valid were informal, that certain votes disallowed should have been counted as valid votes tor Mr Bell, and that there were certain irregularities in the conduct of the poll. Mr Rushworth did pot oppose the petition. On January 28 the Magistrate’s decision was reversed by the Election Court, which found that there was sufficient evidence to show that Mr Rushworth was not duly elected. Mr Rushworth was educated' at a private school, later going to Rugby, and finally to Jesus College, Oxford. He joined the Durham Light Infantry in 1900, to see service in South Africa, but the war ended before he was drafted. Sending in his papers he was transferred to the reserve of officers and chose surveying and civil engineering as his prolession. In 1905 he was made a Fellow of the Surveyors’ Institute and obtained a position on the staff of the London County Council. On the outbreak of the war ,Hr Rushworth went to France as an officer in the 7th City of London Regiment. He was severely wounded, ana was sent back to England. He later returned to France, and _ after further service in the trenches joined the Air Force. He was again wounded in an aerial battle during the fighting at Passehaendale, being forced to descend in German territory. After spending 13 weeks in German hospitals, on the intervention of the Dutch Ambassador he was sent to England, where he resumed his flying duties. The armistice came siioitly afterwards. Later Mr Rushworth decided to take up farming in New Zealand and arrived at Auckland iix December, 1923, and went on to the land at Opua.