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| Turnout | 817 (57.09%) | |||||||||||||||
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The Oamaru by-election 1885 was a by-election held in the Oamaru electorate during the 9th New Zealand Parliament, on 20 May 1885. The by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent, Samuel Shrimski, who was appointed to the Legislative Council, and was won by Thomas William Hislop.
For the 1876 election, Waitaki became a two-member electorate. [1] Four candidates put their names forward. Steward and Joseph O'Meagher contested the election as abolitionists (i.e. they were in favour of abolishing the provincial government), while Thomas William Hislop and Shrimski were provincialists (i.e. they favoured the retention of provincial government). [2] The provincialists won the election by quite some margin, and both became members of parliament for the first time. [3] Hislop and Shrimski were both confirmed in the 1879 election, [4] but Hislop resigned on 28 April 1880 "for private reasons". [5] [6] From 1881 onwards, Waitaki became a single-member constituency again, and Shrimski won the re-constituted Oamaru electorate. [7]
In the 1884 general election, Shrimski was challenged by Viscount Reidhaven (who later became the Earl of Seafield when he succeeded his father). [8] [9] Shrimski resigned on 28 March 1885 and was appointed to the Legislative Council on 15 May 1885. [10] Shrimski was one of an unprecedented nine appointments made by the Stout–Vogel Ministry in 1885, which inflated the council's membership to 54. [11] Three other appointments also caused by-elections in the Tauranga, Waimea, and Southern Maori electorates. [12]
Shrimski's resignation became public knowledge on 28 March 1885. [13] Hislop was first discussed by The Oamaru Mail as a likely candidate three days later, but he declared that he would only become a candidate if the electors so wished. [14] Reidhaven first advertised his candidacy on 6 April. [15] William Hutchison's possible candidacy was discussed in the media, but nothing came of it. [16]
A large meeting was held on Friday evening of 10 April for "liberal electors only" to choose a representative for the upcoming by-election. [16] The candidacies of Hislop, who was in attendance, and Reidhaven, who was otherwise engaged, were discussed. Hislop was eventually proposed by one of the attendees, with three quarters of the electors supporting his nomination, and nobody voting against the motion. Nobody proposed Reidhaven. [17] The nomination meeting was held on 13 May, where Hislop and Reidhaven were formally put forward as candidates, with Hislop winning the show of hands. [18] A Timaru evening paper wrote the following endorsement of Hislop just before the election, which The Oamaru Mail quoted in its 16 May edition: [19]
Mr Hislop is an old and active citizen of Oamaru, of liberal views and progressive energy, one too who has seen a good deal of public life. Above all, Mr Hislop has been the consistent foe of land monopoly. His noble opponent has just been called out of a position of obscurity to the enjoyment of a title. His political views have not yet been enunciated, his fitness for parliamentary honors[ sic ] has never yet been tested. He is an entirely untried man. A man who has filled representative public positions with credit is the most eligible candidate.
Hislop won the by-election with a majority of 61 votes (7.47%). [20]
The 1884 general election was contested by two candidates in the Oamaru electorate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Samuel Shrimski | 483 | 55.26% | +1.39% | |
| Independent | Lord Reidhaven | 391 | 44.74% | ||
| Majority | 92 | 10.53% | |||
| Turnout | 874 | 63.29% | +8.27% | ||
| Registered electors | 1,381 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Thomas William Hislop | 439 | 53.73% | ||
| Independent | Lord Reidhaven | 378 | 46.27% | +1.53% | |
| Majority | 61 | 7.47% | -3.06% | ||
| Turnout | 817 | 57.09% | -6.19% | ||
| Registered electors | 1,381 | ||||
The 1884 New Zealand general election was held on 22 July to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 21 July. A total number of 137,686 (60.6%) voters turned out to vote. In 11 seats there was only one candidate.
The 1887 New Zealand general election was held on 26 September to elect 95 MPs to the tenth session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 7 September. 175,410 votes were cast. In 5 seats there was only one candidate.
The 1896 New Zealand general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates, and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 337,024 (76.1%) voters turned out to vote.
Sir William Jukes Steward was a New Zealand politician and the first Liberal Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He represented South Canterbury electorates in Parliament for a total of 34 years, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. He served briefly on the Otago Provincial Council and was Mayor of Oamaru for three years.
Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. As of 2020, it has a school roll of approximately 400 students.
Thomas William Hislop was the Mayor of Wellington from 1905 to 1908, and had represented two South Island electorates in the New Zealand Parliament.
Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the 1871 election that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament. It has been abolished and re-established several times and in its early years was a two-member electorate for two parliamentary terms. The current electorate has existed since the 2008 election and is held by Miles Anderson of the National Party.
Bay of Islands is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It existed during various periods between 1853 and 1993. It was thus one of the original 24 electoral districts, and New Zealand's first ever MP was elected, although unopposed, in the Bay of Islands; Hugh Carleton thus liked to be called the Father of the House.
Awarua was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate from 1881 to 1996.
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City of Dunedin, during the first two parliaments called Town of Dunedin, was a parliamentary electorate in Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It was one of the original electorates created in 1853 and existed, with two breaks, until 1905. The first break, from 1862 to 1866, was caused by an influx of people through the Otago Gold Rush, when many new electorates were formed in Otago. The second break occurred from 1881 to 1890. It was the only New Zealand electorate that was created as a single-member, two-member and three member electorate.
Oamaru was a parliamentary electorate in the Otago region of New Zealand, during three periods between 1866 and 1978.
Samuel Edward Shrimski was a 19th-century Member of Parliament and then a Member of the Legislative Council from Otago, New Zealand.
The 8th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament.
The 13th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1896 general election in December of that year.
The Dunedin Country by-election 1858 was a by-election held in the multi-member Dunedin Country electorate during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament, on 16 June 1858. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP John Cargill and was won by John Taylor.
Francis William Ogilvie-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield, styled Viscount Reidhaven from 1884 to 1888, was a Scottish peer who emigrated to New Zealand.
The Waitaki by-election 1962 was a by-election held in the Waitaki electorate in South Canterbury and North Otago during the term of the 33rd New Zealand Parliament, on 10 March 1962. The by-election was won by Alan Dick.
The 1880 Waitaki by-election was a by-election held on 16 June 1880 in the Waitaki electorate in the Otago and Canterbury regions during the 7th New Zealand Parliament.
