Dunedin Central

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Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. [1]

Contents

Population centres

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–1876 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Dunedin Central, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries. [2] [1]

History

Thomas Bracken, who at the 1879 election had unsuccessfully contested the City of Dunedin electorate, was the first representative. [3] At the 1884 election, Bracken was defeated by James Benn Bradshaw, but Bradshaw died during the term (on 1 September 1886) and Bracken won the resulting by-election. He served for the rest of the term and then retired. [3]

The 1887 election was contested by Edward Cargill and Frederick Fitchett, [4] and won by Fitchett. [5] Fitchett served one term and then retired. [6] The electorate was abolished at the end of the term in 1890. [1]

When the electorate was recreated for the 1905 election, the election was won by John A. Millar of the Liberal Party, who had represented various Dunedin electorates since 1893. At the next election in 1908, Millar successfully stood in the Dunedin West electorate. [7]

The Dunedin Central electorate was won by James Arnold in that year, who was also of the Liberal Party. [8] At the 1911 election, Arnold was beaten by Charles Statham. [9] Statham was a representative of the Reform Party, but became an Independent in 1919. Statham resigned after the 1914 election, after irregularities in the counting of the vote turned a 12-vote lead for his competitor Jim Munro into a 12-vote loss. Munro, who represented the United Labour Party, and Statham contested the resulting 1915 by-election, which was narrowly won by Statham. He continued to represent the electorate until his retirement in 1935. [10]

Peter Neilson of the Labour Party won the 1935 election. He served for three terms before he retired in 1946. [11] He was succeeded by Labour's Phil Connolly in the 1946 election, who served six terms before he retired. [12] Brian MacDonell of the Labour Party won the 1963 election and served seven terms until 1984, when the electorate was abolished. [13] MacDonell then failed to get selected by Labour for the Dunedin West electorate and then stood as an Independent, but he was unsuccessful.[ citation needed ]

Members of Parliament

The electorate was represented by nine Members of Parliament: [1]

Key

   Independent      Liberal      Liberal–Labour      Reform      Labour   

ElectionWinner
1881 election Thomas Bracken
1884 election James Benn Bradshaw
1886 by-election Thomas Bracken (2nd period)
1887 election Frederick Fitchett
(Electorate abolished 1890–1905)
1905 election John A. Millar
1908 election James Arnold
1911 election Charles Statham
1914 election
1915 by-election
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election Peter Neilson
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election Phil Connolly
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election Brian MacDonell
1966 election
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
1978 election
1981 election
(Electorate abolished in 1984; see Dunedin West)

Election results

1981 election

1981 general election: Dunedin Central [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 9,662 53.81 +3.60
National Nancy Ruth King5,49330.59
Social Credit D A Hood2,79815.58
Majority4,16923.22+4.58
Turnout 17,95387.04+22.56
Registered electors 20,626

1978 election

1978 general election: Dunedin Central [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 9,193 50.21 +3.82
National M B Ablett5,78031.57
Social Credit C Howard2,64914.46
Values Kathleen Dawson6853.74-3.77
Majority3,41318.64+10.71
Turnout 18,30764.48-16.30
Registered electors 28,391

1975 election

1975 general election: Dunedin Central [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 8,352 46.39 -11.26
National Ian Bright6,92438.46
Values Kathleen Dawson1,3537.51
Social Credit Zorina Vujcich1,3277.37
Socialist Unity John Lindsay320.17
Independent H Smith130.07
Majority1,4287.93-15.25
Turnout 18,00180.78-6.93
Registered electors 22,282

1972 election

1972 general election: Dunedin Central [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 9,378 57.65 +1.77
National Fred O'Neill5,60734.46
Social Credit Colin Aberdeen1,0586.50-2.35
New Democratic Christopher John Murphy1190.73
Socialist Unity Jack Marston1050.64
Majority3,77123.18+0.11
Turnout 16,26787.71+0.35
Registered electors 18,545

1969 election

1969 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 9,565 55.88 +7.31
National Margaret Mary Reichwein5,61632.81
Social Credit Colin Aberdeen1,5158.85-1.99
Phoenix Party Gerald Williams4182.44
Majority3,94923.07+15.07
Turnout 17,11488.06+1.54
Registered electors 19,433

1966 election

1966 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 7,557 48.57 -0.07
National J E Farry6,31240.57
Social Credit Colin Aberdeen1,68710.84+1.30
Majority1,2458.00+0.55
Turnout 15,55686.52-2.68
Registered electors 17,979

1963 election

1963 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian MacDonell 7,639 48.64
National George Robert Thorn6,46941.19
Social Credit Colin Aberdeen1,4999.54+3.18
Communist John Leslie Marston960.61
Majority1,1707.45
Turnout 15,70389.20-0.12
Registered electors 17,604

1960 election

1960 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 7,175 48.05 -4.93
National Norman Scurr6,33342.41
Social Credit Colin Aberdeen9516.36
Independent Warrington Taylor4713.15
Majority8425.63-5.80
Turnout 14,93089.32-2.79
Registered electors 16,715

1957 election

1957 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 8,241 52.98 +10.32
National Marcus Anderson6,46341.55-1.33
Social Credit Mary King 8505.46-11.65
Majority1,77811.43+9.00
Turnout 15,55492.11+0.52
Registered electors 16,885

1954 election

1954 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 5,784 42.66 -9.24
National Marcus Anderson5,45440.22
Social Credit Mary King 2,32017.11
Majority3302.43-0.63
Turnout 13,55891.59+1.34
Registered electors 14,802

1951 election

1951 general election: Dunedin Central [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 6,321 51.90 -2.01
National Walter MacDougall5,85848.09
Majority3733.06-4.76
Turnout 12,17990.25-3.17
Registered electors 13,494

1949 election

1949 general election: Dunedin Central [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 6,813 53.91 -3.62
National David Murdoch 5,82446.08
Majority9897.82-7.25
Turnout 12,63793.42+0.32
Registered electors 13,527

1946 election

1946 general election: Dunedin Central [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Connolly 7,633 57.53
National Stuart Sidey 5,63342.46
Majority2,00015.07
Turnout 13,26693.56+3.06
Registered electors 14,179

1943 election

1943 general election: Dunedin Central [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Neilson 7,853 54.54 +8.25
National Leonard James Tobin Ireland5,69839.58
Democratic Labour A P Peat6864.76
Informal votes1591.10+0.36
Majority2,15514.96-11.37
Turnout 14,39690.50-2.64
Registered electors 15,907

1938 election

1938 general election: Dunedin Central [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Neilson 9,094 62.79 +7.40
National William John Meade5,28036.45
Informal votes1080.74+0.13
Majority3,81426.33+11.67
Turnout 14,48293.14+2.21
Registered electors 15,548

1935 election

1935 general election: Dunedin Central [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Neilson 6,529 55.39 +6.64
Reform Donald Cameron 4,80040.72
Independent Sidney Wren4573.87
Informal votes730.61+0.41
Majority1,72914.66
Turnout 11,78690.93+5.14
Registered electors 12,961

1931 election

1931 general election: Dunedin Central [21] [22] [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Charles Statham 5,389 51.25
Labour Peter Neilson 5,12748.75
Majority2622.49
Informal votes210.20
Turnout 10,53785.79
Registered electors 12,283

1928 election

1928 general election: Dunedin Central [24] [25]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Charles Statham 6,022 58.62
Labour John Robinson4,25141.38
Majority1,77117.24
Informal votes1171.13
Turnout 10,39088.11
Registered electors 11,792

1915 by-election

1915 Dunedin Central by-election [26]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reform Charles Statham 4,033 50.67 +0.59
United Labour Jim Munro 3,92649.33-0.62
Informal votes110.13-2.53
Majority1071.34+1.18
Turnout 7,95984.55+2.97
Registered electors 9,413

1914 election

1914 general election: Dunedin Central [26]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reform Charles Statham 3,744 50.08
United Labour Jim Munro 3,73249.91
Informal votes1992.66
Majority120.16
Turnout 7,47681.51
Registered electors 9,171

1886 by-election

1886 Dunedin Central by-election [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Thomas Bracken 501 59.71
Independent William Hutchison 25530.39
Independent Charles Robert Chapman809.54
Independent William Darling30.36
Majority24629.32
Informal votes8
Turnout 847

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wilson 1985, pp. 261–262.
  2. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 43–48.
  3. 1 2 Wilson 1985, p. 185.
  4. ↑ "The General Elections: City Nominations". Otago Daily Times (7982). 21 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "The General Election, 1887". National Library. 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 196.
  7. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 220.
  8. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 180.
  9. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 180, 236.
  10. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 236.
  11. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 223.
  12. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 190.
  13. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 190, 261–262.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Norton 1988, p. 213.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Norton 1988, p. 212.
  16. ↑ "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "The General Election, 1943". National Library. 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  20. ↑ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  21. ↑ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Elections Recounts". The Evening Post . CXII (142). 12 December 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Prospects in Otago". The New Zealand Herald . LXVIII (21037). 23 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  24. ↑ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 2. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  25. ↑ "Nominations". Otago Daily Times (20550). 27 October 1928. p. 9. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  26. 1 2 Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. pp. 1–33. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "Dunedin". North Otago Times. XXXI (6176). 14 October 1886. p. 2.

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References

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