The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Norman Kirk of the Labour Party, who at the time was Prime Minister, on 31 August 1974.

They included:[6] Wybrow was initially the heavy favourite to win the nomination, so much so that he withdrew his place as a candidate on the Labour ticket for the Wellington City Council at the 1974 local elections.

Gerald O'Brien, the party vice-president who was on the panel to choose the Labour candidate, broke the deadlock and switched his vote to Kirk, who got the nod.

[5] Before his death Norman Kirk had talked to cabinet minister Warren Freer very frankly about his family, and made it quite clear that if any of his sons wished to have a political career, he hoped it would be Robert or Philip, but not John.

Pounsford was a sub-branch secretary and executive member of the Canterbury branch of the Meat Workers' Union and had contested Sydenham for Social Credit four times previously (in 1960, 1963, 1966 and 1969) before standing in Lyttelton in 1972.

Lea ran two campaigns at once as he was also a Values candidate for the North Ward of the Christchurch City Council at the upcoming local-body elections.