1874 Wellington mayoral election

1874 Wellington mayoral election

←  1842 17 December 1874 1875  →
Turnout	1,516
Candidate William Sefton Moorhouse Joe Dransfield Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1,009 507 Percentage 66.55 33.46
Mayor before election Charles Borlase Elected mayor William Sefton Moorhouse

The 1874 Wellington mayoral election was the first election for the Mayor of Wellington to be conducted by public vote. The election was won by William Sefton Moorhouse, who defeated former mayor Joseph Dransfield.

Background

Prior conventions dictated that Wellington's mayors were chosen by the city councillors from amongst themselves. In December 1874 an election open to the voting public was held with the intention of ratepayers selecting who would occupy the office of mayor for the 1875 term. ^[1] The election was held on 17 December and saw William Sefton Moorhouse defeat Joe Dransfield by a 2 to 1 vote margin.

Election results

The following table gives the election results:

1874 Wellington mayoral election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Sefton Moorhouse	1,009	66.55
	Independent	Joe Dransfield	507	33.46
Majority			502	33.11
Turnout			1,516

Notes

1. Betts 1970, pp. 36.
2. "The Election of Mayor". The New Zealand Times . Vol. XXIX, no. 4290. 19 December 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 17 March 2019.

References

• Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN   0-589-00469-7.