| Election Name: | 1953 Onehunga 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 |
| Seats For Election: | Onehunga |
| Turnout: | 13,749 (63.48%) |
| Candidate1: | Hugh Watt |
| Party1: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 6,868 |
| Percentage1: | 66.99% |
| Candidate2: | Leonard Bradley |
| Party2: | New Zealand National Party |
| Popular Vote2: | 3,385 |
| Percentage2: | 33.01% |
| Member | |
| Before Election: | Arthur Osborne |
| Before Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| After Election: | Hugh Watt |
| After Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
The Onehunga by-election 1953 was a by-election held in the electorate in Auckland during the term of the 30th New Zealand Parliament, on 19 December 1953. The by-election was won by Hugh Watt of the Labour Party.
The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Arthur Osborne of the Labour Party on 15 November 1953. In early November 1953 Osborne announced that he was not seeking re-election and would retire at the 1954 general election due to ill health. As a result, Labour had already begun preparations to replace him in the electorate at the time of Osborne's death.[1]
The chairman of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee, Richard French "Dick" Barter, was also speculated as a candidate but he did sot seek the nomination.[3] The Labour Party selected Watt as their candidate at a selection meeting on 30 November.[4] He had stood unsuccessfully for Labour in in and in in . A month earlier he had been elected to the Auckland Harbour Board for the Onehunga, Newmarket and combined district.[5]
The following table gives the election results:
Watt represented the electorate until he retired at the . Bradley stood for National in in and in, but was unsuccessful.