Auckland East by-election, 1910

Auckland East by-election, 1910
Turnout	5,443
Member before election; Frederick Baume ; Liberal	Elected Member; Arthur Myers ; Independent Liberal

Last updated March 12, 2019

The Auckland East by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Auckland East, an urban seat at the top of the North Island.

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

An electorate is a geographical constituency used for electing members to the New Zealand Parliament. In informal discussion, electorates are often called seats. The most formal description, electoral district, is used in legislation. The size of electorates is determined on a population basis such that all electorates have approximately the same population.

The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island's area is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi), making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,749,200.

The New Zealand Liberal Party was the first organised political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals, by buying large tracts of Māori land and selling it to small farmers on credit. The Liberal Government also established the basis of the later welfare state, with old age pensions, developed a system for settling industrial disputes, which was accepted by both employers and trade unions. In 1893 it extended voting rights to women, making New Zealand the first country in the world to enact universal female suffrage.

A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this category includes specifically members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title. Member of Congress is an equivalent term in other jurisdictions.

Frederick Ehrenfried Baume was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Liberal Party.

Background

The election was won by Baume's cousin and former Mayor of Auckland, Arthur Myers who stood as an independent Liberal.

The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and replaced with the Auckland Council and the Mayor of Auckland.

Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers was a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Auckland City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister. Today he is remembered mainly for the public works constructed in Auckland during his term as Mayor, and partly from his donations, including Grafton Bridge and Myers Park.

William Richardson, former secretary to opposition leader William Massey ran as a prohibitionist candidate. He opposed moves the Ward administration was making claiming it was working "hand in glove" with the liquor industry.^[1] Richardson had stood for the Auckland East seat in both the 1905 and 1908 elections placing third and second respectively.^[2]^[3]

William Ferguson Massey, commonly known as Bill Massey, was an Irish-born politician in New Zealand who served as the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zealand's second organised political party, from 1909 until his death.

Another opposition candidate was R W Hill, who ran as an independent supporter of the Reform Party who only registered candidacy at the last minute.^[4]

Two Labour Party candidates ran against each other, with George Davis coming in second place. George Irving McKnight was originally chosen by the Labour Party, but proved unsatisfactory. His endorsement was revoked and the party chose to sponsor Davis instead.^[5] The prohibition league also endorsed Davis as Myers owned a brewery.^[6]

The original New Zealand Labour Party was a short-lived left-wing political party in New Zealand. It is a predecessor of the modern Labour Party

George Davis was a New Zealand politician and trade unionist.

Result

The following table gives the election results:

Auckland East by-election, 1910 ^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent Liberal	Arthur Myers	3,180	58.42
	Labour	George Davis	1,087	19.97
	Reform	William Richardson	754	13.85	-23.45
	Independent	Reginald Walter Hill	309	5.67
	Labour	George Irving McKnight	75	1.37
Majority			2,093	38.45
Turnout			5,443	65.02	-8.67

Notes

↑ Auckland East by-election. Manawatu Times. 7 June 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
↑ "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
↑ "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
↑ "Auckland East Election". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14391). 9 June 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
↑ Gustafson 1980, p. 22.
↑ Gustafson 1980, p. 24.
↑ "Auckland East by-election". Wanganui Chronicle . L (12539). 17 June 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

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References

Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party 1900–1919. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.

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[Auckland_East_by-election-1] Auckland East by-election. Manawatu Times. 7 June 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

[General_Election,_1905-2] "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

[1908_election-3] "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.

[Auckland_East_Election-4] "Auckland East Election". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14391). 9 June 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

[FOOTNOTEGustafson198022-5] Gustafson 1980, p. 22.

[FOOTNOTEGustafson198024-6] Gustafson 1980, p. 24.

[Mr._Myers_Elected-7] "Auckland East by-election". Wanganui Chronicle . L (12539). 17 June 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

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11th Parliament	Northern Maori, 1891 Egmont, 1891 Newton, 1891 Te Aroha, 1891 Waikato, 1891 City of Christchurch, 1891 City of Wellington, 1892 Bruce, 1892 Rangitikei, 1892 Inangahua, 1893 Wanganui, 1893 Thames, 1893 City of Auckland, 1893
12th Parliament	Waitemata, 1894 Tuapeka, 1894 City of Auckland, 1895 City of Christchurch, 1896
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14th Parliament	Otaki, 1900 City of Auckland, 1900 Waihemo, 1900 Northern Maori, 1901 City of Christchurch, 1901 Patea, Jul 1901 Patea, Nov 1901 Caversham, 1901
15th Parliament	Pahiatua, 1904 City of Wellington, 1905
16th Parliament	Westland, 1906 Manukau, 1906 Taranaki, 1907 Tuapeka, 1908
17th Parliament	Thames, 1909 Northern Maori, 1909 Rangitikei, 1909 Auckland East, 1910 Christchurch North, 1911