Bruce was a rural parliamentary electorate in the Otago region of New Zealand, from 1861 to 1922. For part of the 1860s with the influx to Otago of gold-miners it was a multi-member constituency with two members.
In 1865 the Bruce electorate included Tokomairiro, Waihola, East Taieri, suburbs of Dunedin, Inch Clutha, Lawrence, Warepa and Pomahaka.
The Bruce electorate was formed in the 1860 electoral redistribution. It covered the rural area surrounding Dunedin that had previously been part of the Dunedin Country electorate. The Bruce electorate was a two-member constituency. [1]
Charles Kettle and Thomas Gillies were the only two candidates for the newly constituted two-member electorate of Bruce. They were thus declared elected unopposed on 11 February 1861. [2]
Kettle died on 5 June 1862. [3] Edward Cargill succeeded him in the 1862 by-election. [4]
Thomas Gillies resigned in 1865 and the subsequent by-election was contested by William John Dyer and Arthur John Burns. [5] On 8 April 1865, Burns and Dyer received 102 and 78 votes. Burns was thus declared elected. [6]
Later in 1865, Edward Cargill resigned. The resulting by-election, held on 26 July, was contested by James Macandrew and John Cargill. Macandrew and J. Cargill received 207 and 34 votes, and Macandrew was declared elected. [7]
From the 1866 general election, Bruce was a single-member electorate. John Cargill was its first representative, and he resigned in 1870. James Clark Brown won the 1870 by-election on 21 March. Brown stood for Tuapeka in the 1871 general election. William Murray won the 1871 election for Bruce, was confirmed in 1876 and 1879, but defeated in 1881 by James Rutherford, who died in 1883. James McDonald won the 1883 by-election, but was defeated at the 1884 general election. [4]
Robert Gillies won the 1884 general election, but resigned on 30 June 1885. [8] Donald Reid won the resulting 1885 by-election, but was defeated at the 1887 general election by Crawford Anderson. He retired at the end of the term, and the 1890 general election was won by James William Thomson, who resigned again in 1892. [4]
The later Defence Minister James Allen won the 1892 by-election and held the seat until 1920, when he resigned. John Edie was successful in the 1920 by-election, and when the electorate was abolished in 1922, he successfully stood for Clutha. [4]
Bruce was represented by 16 Members of Parliament. [4]
Key:
Independent Conservative Reform Liberal
Bruce was a two-member electorate from 1861 to 1866.
Election | Winner | |||
1861 election | Charles Kettle | Thomas Gillies | ||
1862 by-election | Edward Cargill | |||
April 1865 by-election | Arthur John Burns | |||
July 1865 by-election | James Macandrew |
From 1866 to 1922, Bruce was a single-member electorate.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Edie | 2,421 | 51.14 | +2.22 | |
Reform | James Begg | 2,297 | 48.52 | ||
Informal votes | 16 | 0.33 | -0.87 | ||
Majority | 124 | 2.61 | |||
Turnout | 4,734 | 63.92 | -16.28 | ||
Registered electors | 7,406 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reform | James Allen | 2,993 | 51.08 | ||
Liberal | John Edie | 2,867 | 48.92 | ||
Informal votes | 71 | 1.20 | |||
Majority | 126 | 2.15 | |||
Turnout | 5,931 | 80.20 | |||
Registered electors | 7,395 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Allen | 1,966 | 55.10 | ||
Liberal | Crawford Anderson [12] | 1,602 | 44.90 | ||
Majority | 364 | 10.20 | |||
Turnout | 3,568 | 76.48 | |||
Registered electors | 4,665 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Allen | 1,085 | 66.85 | ||
Liberal | Alfred Lee Smith | 538 | 33.14 | ||
Majority | 547 | 33.70 | |||
Turnout | 1,623 | 75.06 | |||
Registered electors | 2,162 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James William Thomson | 872 | 69.76 | ||
Conservative | James Smith | 378 | 30.24 | ||
Majority | 494 | 39.51 | |||
Turnout | 1,250 | 59.80 | |||
Registered electors | 2,090 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Donald Reid | 336 | 31.61 | ||
Independent | James McDonald | 327 | 30.76 | ||
Independent | J. C. Anderson | 303 | 28.50 | ||
Independent | William Hutchison | 97 | 9.13 | ||
Majority | 9 | 0.85 | |||
Turnout | 1063 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | James McDonald | 472 | 46.64 | ||
Independent | Robert Gillies | 451 | 44.57 | ||
Independent | William A. Mosley | 89 | 8.79 | ||
Majority | 21 | 2.08 | |||
Turnout | 1136 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | William Murray | 131 | 40.43 | ||
Independent | William John Dyer | 90 | 27.78 | ||
Independent | William Cutten | 72 | 22.22 | ||
Independent | William Black | 31 | 9.57 | ||
Majority | 41 | 12.65 | |||
Turnout | 324 | 60.79 | |||
Registered electors | 533 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | James Macandrew | 207 | 85.89 | ||
Independent | John Cargill | 34 | 14.11 | ||
Majority | 173 | 71.78 | |||
Turnout | 241 | 48.20 | |||
Registered electors | 500 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Arthur John Burns | 102 | 56.67 | ||
Independent | William John Dyer | 78 | 43.33 | ||
Majority | 24 | 13.33 | |||
Turnout | 180 | 36.00 | |||
Registered electors | 500 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Edward Cargill | 74 | 57.81 | ||
Independent | William Baldwin | 54 | 42.19 | ||
Turnout | 128 | ||||
Majority | 20 |
James Macandrew was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province.
John Cargill was a New Zealand politician and runholder.
Thomas Bannatyne Gillies was a 19th-century New Zealand lawyer, judge and politician.
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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.
The Dunedin Country by-election 1860 was a by-election held in the multi-member Dunedin Country electorate during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP William Cargill. The nomination meeting was held on 28 March and as Thomas Gillies was the only person proposed, he was declared elected unopposed.
The Bruce by-election 1862 was a by-election held in the multi-member Bruce electorate during the 3rd New Zealand Parliament, on 31 July 1862. The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Charles Kettle on 5 June, and was won by Edward Cargill.
The 1859 Town of Dunedin by-election was a New Zealand by-election held in the single-member electorate of Town of Dunedin during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament on 14 January 1859, after the resignation of James Macandrew. The election was won by Macandrew, who had resigned from his seat on 2 November 1858 as a result of not attending a parliamentary session earlier in his term.
William John Dyer was a New Zealand businessman and politician. Born in London, his family moved to Sydney when he was a child. He ran a trading business between Sydney, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and moved to New Zealand in 1857. He lived at different times in Dunedin and Milton and entered politics, contesting a number of elections and representing the Tokomairaro electorate in the provincial council.
The April 1865 Bruce by-election was a New Zealand by-election held in the multi-member electorate of Bruce during the 3rd New Zealand Parliament on 8 April 1865. It was triggered on 9 January that year by the resignation of separationist Thomas Gillies and won by prominent settler Arthur John Burns. The more liberal businessman William John Dyer was the sole other contester of the by-election, finishing with 43.33% of the vote.
The July 1865 Bruce by-election was a New Zealand by-election held in the electorate of Bruce during the 3rd New Zealand Parliament on 27 July 1865 triggered by the resignation of Edward Cargill. Three candidates were nominated but one of them withdrew during the nomination meeting. James Macandrew was the successful candidate; he defeated John Cargill, a former Member of Parliament and a brother of the incumbent.