1985 Timaru by-election

The Timaru by-election of 1985 was a by-election for the electorate of Timaru during the term of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It was triggered by the death of Sir Basil Arthur (who had held the seat since 1962) on 1 May 1985. Sir Basil was Speaker of the House, and had inherited the rank of baronet from his father in 1949.

The by-election was held on 15 June 1985 and was won by Maurice McTigue of the National Party with a majority of 1,492 votes.

Ten candidates were nominated for the Labour Party nomination:

The selection meeting of around 220 party members was held. The selection committee of Helen Clark MP, Fred Anderson (party former executive), Tony Timms (general secretary), Alan Aldridge (electorate chairman), Roly Anderson (electorate vice-chairman), and Francis Griffin (electorate executive) deliberated for over four hours. They selected Walker as the candidate. She was the daughter of former Timaru City councillor and lawyer, Gordon Walker, and was chairman of the Labour Party's women's council as well as secretary of the Labour's Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

At least four men were nominated were nominated for the National Party candidacy. They were:

McTigue was chosen via a ballot a selection meeting by party members.

The New Zealand Party had four candidates vying for selections.

Greenslade was selected by party members at a selection meeting.