16th New Zealand Parliament

16th Parliament of New Zealand
← 15th Parliament 17th Parliament →
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	27 June 1906 – 10 October 1908
Election	1905 New Zealand general election
Government	Liberal Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Arthur Guinness
Prime Minister	Joseph Ward William Hall-Jones until 6 August 1906 as Premier
Leader of the Opposition	William Massey
Legislative Council
Members	44
Speaker of the Council	Charles Bowen
Sovereign
Monarch	HM Edward VII
Governor	HE Rt. Hon. The Lord Plunket

The 16th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1905 general election in December of that year.

Changes to the electoral law

The 1903 City Single Electorates Act declared that at the dissolution of the 15th Parliament, the four multi-member electorates would be abolished and replaced each with three single-member electorates. ^[1] It was also the year absentee voting was introduced for all electors unable to be in their own electorate on election day. The first Chief Electoral Officer was appointed.

Accordingly, the multi-member urban electorates of City of Auckland, City of Christchurch, City of Dunedin and City of Wellington were abolished and replaced with the following single-member seats:

• Auckland Central
• Auckland East
• Auckland West
• Christchurch East
• Christchurch North
• Christchurch South
• Wellington Central
• Wellington East
• Wellington North
• Dunedin Central
• Dunedin North
• Dunedin South

Nine of these twelve electorates had existed before. Wellington Central, Wellington North, and Dunedin North were established for the first time. ^[2]

1905 general election

Main article: 1905 New Zealand general election

The 1905 general election was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates, respectively. ^[3] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 38 represented North Island electorates, 38 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. ^[4] 476,473 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 83.3%. ^[3]

Sessions

The 16th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1906), and was prorogued on 29 October 1908. ^[5]

Session	Opened	Adjourned
first	27 June 1906	29 June 1906
second	21 August 1906	29 October 1906
third	27 June 1907	25 November 1907
fourth	29 June 1908	10 October 1908

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891. ^[6] The Seddon Ministry under Richard Seddon had taken office in 1893 during the term of the 11th Parliament. ^[7] The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906. ^[8] Seddon was travelling overseas at the time of his death, and William Hall-Jones was a reluctant acting Premier at the time. Joseph Ward would normally have been acting premier, but he was also overseas. ^[9] So upon Seddon's death, Hall-Jones was sworn in as Prime Minister (the first time this new title was used) and formed the Hall-Jones Ministry on 21 June 1906. ^{[9] [10]} Upon Ward's return from overseas, the leadership was offered to him, which he accepted. Hall-Jones resigned as prime minister, succeeded by Ward who formed the Ward Ministry on 6 August 1906. ^[9] The Ward Ministry remained in power for the remainder of the parliamentary term and subsequently until Ward's resignation as prime minister in 1912. ^{[11] [12]}

Party composition

Start of term

Party		Seats
	Liberal || 58
	Conservative || 16
	Independent || 6
Source [13]

Initial composition of the 16th Parliament

The following are the results of the 1905 general election:

Key

  Liberal   Conservative   New Liberal   Liberal–Labour   Independent Liberal   Independent

Electorate results for the 1905 New Zealand general election ^{[14] [15]}

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		John McLachlan			244		John Studholme
Auckland Central	New electorate			Alfred Kidd	939		Lemuel Bagnall
Auckland East	New electorate			Frederick Baume	871		Harry Bamford
Auckland West	New electorate			Charles Poole	340		James Parr
Avon		William Tanner			725		John Russell Brunt
Awarua		Joseph Ward			2,848		Henry Woodnorth
Bay of Islands		Robert Houston			470		John Charles Johnson
Bay of Plenty		William Herries			211		Joseph Foster
Bruce		James Allen			435		William Darcy Mason
Buller		James Colvin			2,798		Frank Isitt
Caversham		Thomas Sidey			1,760		William Earnshaw
Chalmers		Edmund Allen			1,437		William Pryor
Christchurch East	New electorate			Thomas Davey	565		Henry Featherston Toogood
Christchurch North	New electorate			Charles Gray	1,084		Tommy Taylor
Christchurch South	New electorate			Harry Ell	2,511		Charles Henry Winny
Clutha		James Thomson		Alexander Malcolm	272		Daniel Stewart
Courtenay		Charles Lewis			232		Thomas Jones McBride
Dunedin Central	New electorate			John A. Millar	1,919		Alexander Samuel Adam
Dunedin North	New electorate			Alfred Richard Barclay	514		Harry Bedford
Dunedin South	New electorate			James Arnold	780		William Downie Stewart
Eden		John Bollard			2,760		Robert French
Egmont		William Thomas Jennings			651		Charles Leech
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes			283		George Rennie
Franklin		William Massey			935		William Wilson McCardle
Geraldine		Frederick Flatman			1,233		William Jeffries
Grey		Arthur Guinness			377		Joseph Petrie
Grey Lynn		George Fowlds			230		John Farrell
Hawera		Charles E. Major			449		Felix McGuire
Hawke's Bay		William Russell		Alfred Dillon	1,043		William Russell
Hurunui		Andrew Rutherford			1,186		Obed Frederick Clothier
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			1,912		George Yerex
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan			1,721		Irvin Willis Raymond
Kaiapoi		David Buddo			45		Richard Moore
Kaipara		Alfred Harding		John Stallworthy	9		Alfred Harding
Lyttelton		George Laurenson			1,108		William Radcliffe
Manawatu		Job Vile		John Stevens	359		Job Vile
Manukau		Matthew Kirkbride			663		Ralph Duncan Stewart
Marsden		Francis Mander			348		Robert Thompson
Masterton		Alexander Hogg			859		James Christopher Cooper
Mataura		Robert McNab			435		Thomas MacGibbon
Motueka		Roderick McKenzie			2,733		Frank Isitt
Mount Ida		Alexander Herdman		John MacPherson	394		Alexander Herdman
Napier		Alfred Fraser			1,469		Montague W. P. Lascelles [16] [17]
Nelson		John Graham			29		Harry Atmore
Newtown		William Barber			1,213		Thomas William Hislop
Oamaru		Thomas Young Duncan			2,009		James Mitchell
Ohinemuri		Edward Moss		Hugh Poland	351		Edward Moss
Oroua		Frank Lethbridge			986		Owen Carlin Pleasants
Otaki		William Hughes Field			1,394		Byron Paul Brown
Pahiatua		Bill Hawkins		Robert Beatson Ross	206		Bill Hawkins
Palmerston		William Wood			480		Frederick Pirani
Parnell		Frank Lawry			122		Murdoch McLean
Patea		Walter Symes			143		John Hine
Rangitikei		Arthur Remington			1,710		Joe Reginald Sommerville
Riccarton		George Witty			1,240		Thomas Caverhill
Selwyn		Charles Hardy			322		Joseph Ivess
Taieri		Donald Reid			535		Alexander Marshall
Taranaki		Edward Smith			236		Henry Okey
Thames		James McGowan			1,229		Malcolm Fleming
Timaru		William Hall-Jones			1,063		Frank Rolleston
Tuapeka		James Bennet			977		Robert Gilkison
Waiapu		James Carroll			1,798		Lissant Clayton
Waikato		Frederic Lang		Henry Greenslade	78		Frederic Lang
Waikouaiti		Thomas Mackenzie			702		Edward Henry Clark
Waipawa		Charles Hall			1,254		George Hunter
Wairarapa		Walter Clarke Buchanan		J. T. Marryat Hornsby	531		Walter Clarke Buchanan
Wairau		Charles H. Mills			977		John Duncan
Waitaki		William Steward			1,643		George Dash
Waitemata		Ewen Alison			971		Cecil Clinkard
Wakatipu		William Fraser			423		Michael Gilfedder
Wallace		John Charles Thomson			461		Dugald Macpherson
Wanganui		Archibald Willis		James Thomas Hogan	924		Archibald Willis
Wellington Central	New electorate			Francis Fisher	445		Patrick O'Regan
Wellington East	New electorate			John Aitken	19		William McLean
Wellington North	New electorate			Charles Hayward Izard	660		John Duthie
Westland		Richard Seddon			3,180		Harry Cowin
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Wi Pere		Āpirana Ngata	757		Wi Pere
Northern Maori		Hone Heke			627		Ru Reweti
Southern Maori		Tame Parata			160		Hopere Uru
Western Maori		Henare Kaihau			1,688		Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V

By-elections during 16th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 16th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Westland	1906	13 July		Richard Seddon	Death		Tom Seddon
Manukau	1906	6 December		Matthew Kirkbride [18]	Death		Frederic Lang [19]
Taranaki	1907	4 May		Edward Smith [20]	Death		Henry Okey [21]
Tuapeka	1908	5 June		James Bennet	Death		William Chapple

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, p. 67.
2. Wilson 1985, pp. 262, 276.
3. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
4. Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
5. Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
6. Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
7. Scholefield 1950, pp. 40–41.
8. Hamer, David. "Seddon, Richard John - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 10 December 2011.
9. Hall-Jones, John. "Hall-Jones, William 1851-1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 10 December 2011.
10. Scholefield 1950, p. 42.
11. Bassett, Michael. "Ward, Joseph George 1856–1930". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 10 December 2011.
12. Scholefield 1950, pp. 42–43.
13. "1890–1993 general elections | Elections". Elections.nz. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
14. "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
15. "The Nominations". Vol. XXXVIII, no. 284. Marlborough Express. 29 November 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
16. "Personal Matters". The Evening Post . Vol. LXX, no. 61. 9 September 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
17. "Deaths". The Evening Post . Vol. CXXVIII, no. 72. 22 September 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
18. Scholefield 1950, p. 118.
19. Scholefield 1950, p. 119.
20. Scholefield 1950, p. 139.
21. Scholefield 1950, p. 130.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN   0-477-01384-8.
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC   154283103.