| Election Name: | 1953 North Dunedin by-election |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Flag Year: | 1953 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1951 New Zealand general election |
| Previous Year: | 1951 general |
| Next Election: | 1954 New Zealand general election |
| Next Year: | 1954 general |
| Turnout: | 10,368 (70.42%) |
| Candidate1: | Ethel McMillan |
| Party1: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 6,424 |
| Percentage1: | 61.96 |
| Candidate2: | Walter MacDougall |
| Party2: | New Zealand National Party |
| Popular Vote2: | 3,944 |
| Percentage2: | 38.04 |
| Member | |
| Before Election: | Robert Walls |
| Before Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| After Election: | Ethel McMillan |
| After Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
The 1953 North Dunedin by-election was a by-election held during the 30th New Zealand Parliament in the Dunedin electorate of North Dunedin. The by-election occurred following the death of MP Robert Walls and was won by Ethel McMillan.
Robert Walls, who was first elected to represent Dunedin North (the electorate's previous and subsequent name) for the Labour Party in the 1945 by-election, died on 6 November 1953. This triggered the North Dunedin by-election, which was held on 12 December 1953.
The Deputy Mayor of Dunedin and former Minister of Defence, Fred Jones, was also speculated as a candidate, but it was thought more likely he would seek nomination for the electorate at the scheduled general election. Connelly, McMillan and Stead were seen as the frontrunners to win nomination.[1] McMillan was chosen as the candidate.[2]
The following table gives the election results:
McMillan obtained 61.96% of the votes and was successful. McMillan became the first woman to represent Dunedin North and would represent the electorate until the 1975 election, when she was defeated against Richard Walls of the National Party.