Durban Greyville (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

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Durban Greyville
Durban-Greyville
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Durban-1910-Greyville.png
Location of Durban Greyville within Durban (1910)
Province Natal
Electorate6,023 (1933)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1938
Number of members1
Last MHA  J. G. Derbyshire (HRP)
Replaced by Durban Central

Durban Greyville was a constituency in the Natal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1938. Named for the Greyville area of central Durban, it covered the northern part of the CBD including the area around Durban Station. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly.

Contents

Franchise notes

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The franchise used in the Natal Colony, while theoretically not restricted by race, was significantly less liberal than that of the Cape, and no more than a few hundred non-white electors ever qualified. In 1908, an estimated 200 of the 22,786 electors in the colony were of non-European descent, and by 1935, only one remained. [1] By 1958, when the last non-white voters in the Cape were taken off the rolls, Natal too had an all-white electorate. The franchise was also restricted by property and education qualifications until the 1933 general election, following the passage of the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931. From then on, the franchise was given to all white citizens aged 21 or over, which remained the case until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994. [2]

History

Like the rest of Durban, Durban Greyville was a largely English-speaking seat. After electing an independent in its first election, it was won by the South African Labour Party in a 1912 by-election, and would become a stronghold for the party. This was aided by the separation of its northern, more middle-class parts to form the Stamford Hill constituency in 1920. Its MP from 1912 until 1929 was Tommy Boydell, who served as Minister of Labour in J. B. M. Hertzog’s coalition government and was defeated along with several other Labour MPs in the 1929 election. Its final MP, J. G. Derbyshire, was affiliated with the federalist Natal Home Rule Party. In the 1938 redistribution, it was largely merged into the recreated seat of Durban Central.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 J. G. Maydon Independent
1912 Tommy Boydell Labour
1915
1920
1921
1924
1929 G. R. Richards South African
1933 J. G. Derbyshire Home Rule
1938 constituency abolished

[3]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent J. G. Maydon 910 64.0 New
Labour Tommy Boydell 51136.0New
Majority39928.0N/A
Turnout 1,421N/A
Independent win (new seat)
1912 Durban Greyville by-election [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tommy Boydell 671 51.1 +15.1
Unionist W. Greenacre64248.9New
Majority296.2N/A
Turnout 1,313N/A
Labour gain from Independent Swing N/A
General election 1915: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tommy Boydell 951 53.1 +17.1
Unionist W. Greenacre83946.9New
Majority1126.2N/A
Turnout 1,79075.4N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tommy Boydell 1,067 78.9 +25.8
Unionist W. G. Halford28621.1−25.8
Majority78157.8+51.6
Turnout 1,35359.0−15.6
Labour hold Swing +25.8
General election 1921: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tommy Boydell 920 63.6 −15.3
South African G. Mitchell50134.6New
Independent R. Rodger251.7New
Majority41929.0N/A
Turnout 1,44657.1−1.9
Labour hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tommy Boydell 1,183 65.9 +2.3
South African W. Gilbert61334.1−0.5
Majority78131.8+2.8
Turnout 1,79684.4+37.3
Labour hold Swing +1.4
General election 1929: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African G. R. Richards 1,408 54.6 +20.5
Labour Tommy Boydell 1,05340.8−25.1
Labour J. Trembath1174.5New
Majority35513.8N/A
Turnout 2,57883.4−1.0
South African gain from Labour Swing +22.8

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1933: Durban Greyville [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Home RuleJ. G. Derbyshire 1,810 46.1 New
South African F. Johnston1,43936.6−18.0
Labour S. M. Petterson67917.3−23.5
Majority3719.5N/A
Turnout 3,92865.2−18.2
Home Rule gain from South AfricanSwingN/A

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References

  1. May, H.J. (1955). The South African Constitution. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Juta & Co.
  2. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.