1890 Timaru by-election

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1890 Timaru by-election
Flag of New Zealand.svg
  1887 general 18 August 1890 (1890-08-18) 1890 general  
Turnout868 (67.28%)
  William Hall-Jones 2.jpg No image.png
Candidate William Hall-Jones Edward G. Kerr
Party Independent Liberal Independent
Popular vote422344
Percentage48.6139.63

Member before election

Richard Turnbull
Independent

Elected Member

William Hall-Jones
Independent Liberal

The 1890 Timaru by-election was a by-election held on 18 August 1890 during the 10th New Zealand Parliament in the seat of Timaru, a partly urban seat in Canterbury on the East Coast of the South Island.

Contents

Background

The by-election was triggered because of the death of sitting member of parliament Richard Turnbull. [1] The election saw William Hall-Jones win the seat over his main opponent, Edward George Kerr.

Kerr had contested the 1887 election against Turnbull, [2] and was the proprietor of The Timaru Herald . Former Prime Minister Sir Robert Stout was invited to contest the seat, but he declined. [3] William Hall-Jones had initially refused nomination citing crucial upcoming business interests. However, several locals persisted and Hall-Jones eventually accepted. [1] Jeremiah Twomey, a newspaper proprietor and owner of the Temuka Leader and Geraldine Guardian also announced his candidacy, but later retired from the race before nominations closed. [4]

Hall-Jones, Kerr and W F Alpin were nominated, and after a show of hands went in favour of Hall-Jones a poll was demanded by the supporters of Kerr and Alpin. [5]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1890 Timaru by-election [6] [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Liberal William Hall-Jones 422 48.61
Independent Edward G. Kerr34439.63−0.58
Independent Labour W F Alpin8810.13
Informal votes141.61
Majority788.98
Turnout 86867.28−0.27

Notes

  1. 1 2 Hall-Jones 1969, p. 24.
  2. "The Nominations". Ashburton Guardian . Vol. VII, no. 1667. 20 September 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  3. "Late Telegrams". Mount Ida Chronicle. Vol. XXI, no. 1077. 26 July 1890. p. 1 (Supplement).
  4. "The Timaru Seat". Poverty Bay Herald . Vol. XVII, no. 5842. 12 August 1890. p. 3.
  5. 1 2 "The Timaru Seat". The Star . No. 6929. 12 August 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  6. "The Timaru Seat - Result of the Election". The Press . Vol. XLVII, no. 7634. 19 August 1890. p. 5.

Bibliography