1919 New Zealand general election

1919 general election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives ; 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	80.5%
	Results of the election.
Prime Minister before election; William Massey ; Reform	Subsequent Prime Minister; William Massey; Reform

Last updated September 16, 2024

The 1919 New Zealand general election was held on Tuesday, 16 December in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 17 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 20th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 560,673 (80.5%) voters turned out to vote.^[1]

Results

Though Labour Party captured only eight seats it received nearly a quarter of the votes – a shock to conservative minds due to Labour being founded only three years earlier in 1916.^[2]

Party totals


Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
	Reform Party	67	197,041	35.63	45
	Liberal Party ^{[nb 1]}	66	166,675	30.14	19
	Labour Party	59	134,094	24.25	8
	Independents ^{[nb 2]}	39	55,161	9.98	8
Total valid votes			552,971		80
Informal votes			7,702	1.37
Registered voters			683,420

↑ Includes one MP returned unopposed, and one Independent Liberal
↑ Includes ex-members of the three main parties as well as long-standing Independents

Votes summary

Popular Vote

Reform			35.63%
Liberal			30.14%
Labour			24.25%
Independents			9.98%

Parliament seats

Reform			56.25%
Liberal			23.75%
Labour			10.00%
Independents			10.00%

Electorate results

The table below shows the results of the 1919 general election:

Key

Reform		Liberal		Labour		Liberal–Labour
Independent Liberal			Independent Labour			Independent

Electorate results for the 1919 New Zealand general election^[3]
Electorate	Incumbent			Majority
General electorates
Ashburton		William Nosworthy		1,493	William Dickie
Auckland Central		Albert Glover	Bill Parry	786	Albert Glover
Auckland East		Arthur Myers		158	Clutha Mackenzie
Auckland West		Charles Poole	Michael Joseph Savage	533	Charles Frederick Bennett^[4]
Avon		George Russell	Dan Sullivan	1,648	George Russell
Awarua		Joseph Ward	John Hamilton	757	Joseph Ward
Bay of Islands		Vernon Reed		1,195	St. Claire Jounneaux
Bay of Plenty		William MacDonald		1,234	Kenneth Williams
Bruce		James Allen		126	John Edie
Buller		James Colvin	Harry Holland	1,003	Denis Quinlan O'Brien^[4]
Chalmers		James Dickson		883	John Gilchrist
Christchurch East		Henry Thacker		1,940	Hiram Hunter
Christchurch North		Leonard Isitt		2,403	Tim Armstrong
Christchurch South		Harry Ell	Ted Howard	1,675	Henry Holland
Clutha		Alexander Malcolm		134	Robert Alexander Rodger^[5]^[6]
Dunedin Central		Charles Statham		497	Jim Munro
Dunedin North		Andrew Walker	Edward Kellett	806	Andrew Walker
Dunedin South		Thomas Sidey		84	Tom Paul
Dunedin West		William Downie Stewart		2,421	John Arthur Brown^[7]^[8]
Eden		James Parr		1,854	Oscar McBrine
Egmont		Charles Wilkinson	Oswald Hawken	191	David Lyon Abbott Astbury
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes		749	George Barclay
Franklin		William Massey		3,030	Joseph Rea
Gisborne		James Carroll	Douglas Lysnar	373	James Carroll
Grey Lynn		John Payne	Fred Bartram	481	Ellen Melville
Hawke's Bay		John Findlay	Hugh Campbell	942	Gilbert McKay
Hurunui		George Forbes		667	John George Armstrong^[9]
Hutt		Thomas Wilford		1,005	David Pritchard
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan		1,403	John Archer
Kaiapoi		David Buddo	David Jones	50	David Buddo
Kaipara		Gordon Coates		3,291	Alfred Gregory
Lyttelton		James McCombs		577	Robert Macartney^[4]
Manawatu	New electorate		Edward Newman	866	Alfred Hillier
Manukau		Frederic Lang		2,508	Rex Mason
Marsden		Francis Mander		189	Alfred Murdoch
Masterton		George Sykes	George Sykes	344	A C Holms
Mataura		George Anderson		1,336	David McDougall
Motueka		Richard Hudson		661	Percy Power
Napier		Vigor Brown		54	Frederick Charles Evans^[10]^[11]
Nelson		Thomas Field	Harry Atmore	510	Thomas Field
Oamaru		Ernest Lee		276	John MacPherson
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland		555	J Clark
Oroua		David Guthrie		1,843	E J Tunnicliffe
Otaki		William Hughes Field		1,232	James McKenzie
Pahiatua		Harold Smith	Archibald McNicol	170	Robert Ross
Palmerston		Jimmy Nash		1,004	Moses Ayrton ^[12]
Parnell		James Samuel Dickson		3,419	Tom Bloodworth
Patea		George Pearce	Walter Powdrell	255	William Morrison
Raglan		Richard Bollard		988	Bill Jordan
Rangitikei		Edward Newman	Billy Glenn	635	F P Brady^[13]
Riccarton		George Witty		626	William Russell Devereux^[14]
Roskill	New electorate		Vivian Potter	1,854	James Gunson
Rotorua	New electorate		Frank Hockly	1,733	Malcolm Larney^[15]
Stratford		John Hine	Robert Masters	61	John Hine
Taranaki		Sydney George Smith	Sydney George Smith	1,023	George H. Buckeridge
Tauranga		William Herries		1,860	Benjamin Robbins ^[16]
Temuka		Charles Talbot	Thomas Burnett	31	Charles Talbot
Thames		Thomas William Rhodes		1,590	W J McCormick
Timaru		James Craigie	James Craigie	1,519	Percy Vinnell
Waikato		Alexander Young		2,893	P H Watts
Waimarino		Robert William Smith		643	Frank Langstone
Waipawa		George Hunter		274	Albert Jull
Wairarapa		J. T. Marryat Hornsby	Alex McLeod	540	J. T. Marryat Hornsby
Wairau		Richard McCallum		796	B J Cooke
Waitaki		John Anstey	John Bitchener	472	John Anstey
Waitemata		Alexander Harris		1,419	Arthur Edwin Greenslade^[17]
Waitomo	New electorate		William Jennings	377	K C Wilson
Wakatipu		William Fraser	James Horn	801	Robert Scott
Wallace		John Charles Thomson	Adam Hamilton	43	John Charles Thomson
Wanganui		Bill Veitch		1,703	William J. Cuttle
Wellington Central		Peter Fraser		1,056	Frederick Pirani ^[4]
Wellington East		Alfred Newman		1,058	Alec Monteith
Wellington North		John Luke		1,065	H. Oakley Browne
Wellington South		Bob Semple	George Mitchell	1,426	Bob Semple
Wellington Suburbs		Robert Wright		1,127	Alexander Croskery
Westland		Tom Seddon		1,497	James O'Brien
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata		Uncontested
Northern Maori		Taurekareka Henare		1,629	Nau Parone Kawiti
Southern Maori		Hopere Uru		207	Riki te Mairaki Taiaroa
Western Maori		Māui Pōmare		1,424	Ngarangi Katitia

Summary of changes

A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of four electorates:^[18]

Grey, held by Harry Holland
Otago Central, held by Robert Scott
Selwyn, held by William Dickie
Taumarunui, held by William Thomas Jennings
Wellington Suburbs and Country, held by Robert Wright

At the same time, four new electorates were created:^[19]^[20]

Manawatu, previously abolished in 1911
Roskill, first created through the 1918 electoral redistribution
Rotorua, first created through the 1918 electoral redistribution
Waitomo, first created through the 1918 electoral redistribution
Wellington Suburbs, previously abolished in 1911

Notes

↑ "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
↑ Lipson 2011, p. 211.
↑ Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
1 2 3 4 Gustafson 1980, p. 181.
↑ "Clutha". Otago Daily Times . No. 17779. 11 November 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
↑ Dickson, Amanda Rodger (23 September 2011). "West Otago A & P Society". Amanda Rodger Dickson at Wordpress. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
↑ Gustafson 1980, p. 155.
↑ "The election campaign". Evening Star . No. 17218. 6 December 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
↑ "Notice of nominations received". The Press . Vol. LV, no. 16701. 9 December 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
↑ "Notice of Nominations Received". Hawke's Bay Tribune . Vol. IX, no. 303. 9 December 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
↑ "Napier". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. LXXIV. 7 November 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
↑ Brown, Colin. "Moses Ayrton". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 28 December 2013.
↑ Gustafson 1980, p. 154.
↑ "Notice of Nominations Received". The Press . Vol. LV, no. 16702. 10 December 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
↑ "Rotorua Seat". Auckland Star . Vol. L, no. 282. 27 November 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
↑ "Liberal Selection for Tauranga". Wairarapa Daily Times . Vol. 45, no. 13977. 11 November 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
↑ "Waitemata Parliamentary Election". Observer. Vol. XL, no. 14. 6 December 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 266–276.
↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 79f.

↑ Results for the United Labour Party (3 seats, 4.2%) and Social Democratic Party (2 seats, 4.2%).

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References

Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.
Lipson, Leslie (2011) [1948]. The Politics of Equality: New Zealand's Adventures in Democracy. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0-86473-646-8.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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[Liberal-4] Includes one MP returned unopposed, and one Independent Liberal

[Independents-5] Includes ex-members of the three main parties as well as long-standing Independents

[General_elections_1853-2005-2] "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011.

[FOOTNOTELipson2011211-3] Lipson 2011, p. 211.

[Year-Book_1920-6] Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

[FOOTNOTEGustafson1980181-7] 1 2 3 4 Gustafson 1980, p. 181.

[8] "Clutha". Otago Daily Times . No. 17779. 11 November 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[9] Dickson, Amanda Rodger (23 September 2011). "West Otago A & P Society". Amanda Rodger Dickson at Wordpress. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[FOOTNOTEGustafson1980155-10] Gustafson 1980, p. 155.

[11] "The election campaign". Evening Star . No. 17218. 6 December 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[12] "Notice of nominations received". The Press . Vol. LV, no. 16701. 9 December 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[13] "Notice of Nominations Received". Hawke's Bay Tribune . Vol. IX, no. 303. 9 December 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 16 October 2015.

[14] "Napier". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. LXXIV. 7 November 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 16 October 2015.

[15] Brown, Colin. "Moses Ayrton". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 28 December 2013.

[FOOTNOTEGustafson1980154-16] Gustafson 1980, p. 154.

[Press_nominations-17] "Notice of Nominations Received". The Press . Vol. LV, no. 16702. 10 December 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

[18] "Rotorua Seat". Auckland Star . Vol. L, no. 282. 27 November 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

[19] "Liberal Selection for Tauranga". Wairarapa Daily Times . Vol. 45, no. 13977. 11 November 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

[20] "Waitemata Parliamentary Election". Observer. Vol. XL, no. 14. 6 December 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 5 December 2014.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198975–80-21] McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985266–276-22] Wilson 1985, pp. 266–276.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198979f-23] McRobie 1989, pp. 79f.

[1] Results for the United Labour Party (3 seats, 4.2%) and Social Democratic Party (2 seats, 4.2%).

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