Tags: Election.
The Timaru by-election of 1985 was a by-election for the electorate of Timaru during the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It was triggered by the death of Basil Arthur (who had held the seat since 1962) on 1 May 1985.The by-election was held on 15 June 1985 and was won by Maurice McTigue of the National Party with a majority of 1492 votes. David Lange recalled a meeting during the by-election campaign when Labour general secretary Tony Timms manhandled a noisy heckler out of the building.