It was triggered by the death of sitting member Tommy Taylor on 27 July and was won by his close friend and political ally, Leonard Isitt.

A radical politician, he was interested in a variety of labour and liberal issues, but was a staunch opponent of Richard Seddon and always maintained his independence, going as far as refusing company ownership or joining cabinet.

On a personal level, he was deeply popular with the population, and when he died aged 49 only months after having been elected Mayor of Christchurch, 50,000 people lined the streets during his funeral procession.

[3] The following table gives the election results: Commentators attributed the win of successful candidate Leonard Isitt to floods of sympathy votes.

[5] Hall contested the Christchurch North electorate in the 1911 general election a few months after the by-election, but was beaten by Isitt in the second ballot.