The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Charles Kettle on 5 June, and was won by Edward Cargill.

[3] The Otago gold rush had started in May 1861 and the wider area experienced a significant increase in population, including the Bruce electorate.

[4] Towards the end of June, it became known that William Baldwin, the gold fields commissioner at Waitahuna, would be a candidate in the by-election.

[9] By Saturday, 2 August, the Dunedin newspapers had not received the results from the Warepa booth, but Cargill was leading by 20 votes.

There were just two votes at Warepa, with one for each candidate, hence the majority did not change and Cargill was declared elected.