There is no official data on political party membership. This graph, pulled together from many sources and therefore not exact, does provide a good sense of the fluctuations in membership of the National Party since its founding in 1936. In the first 20 years much energy was put into building membership and creating a genuinely national party. Fees were low and there was good representation, both geographically and in terms of occupations. The Holyoake years of the 1960s saw falling numbers, but following the election of a Labour government in 1972 there was enthusiasm for a National revived, with new members attracted by Robert Muldoon's energetic campaigning. However, since 1981 National has suffered a steady decline in membership – as has the Labour Party.
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Source: Bryce Edwards, 'Political parties in New Zealand: a study of ideological and organisational transformation.' PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, 2003.
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