Germiston (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Germiston
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Rand-1981-Germiston.png
Location of Germiston within the Witwatersrand (1981)
Province Transvaal
Electorate20,452 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1910
1943
Abolished 1938
1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  Derek Christophers (NP)
Created fromGermiston North
Germiston South (1943)
Replaced byGermiston North
Germiston South (1938)
Gauteng (1994)

Germiston was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994 with the exception of the 1938 general election. It covered a part of the East Rand centred on the town of Germiston. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Transvaal Provincial Council.

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. In the Transvaal Colony, and its predecessor the South African Republic, the vote was restricted to white men, and as such, elections in the Transvaal Province were held on a whites-only franchise from the beginning. 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. Non-whites remained disenfranchised until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994. [1]

History

The mines of the Witwatersrand were an early stronghold of South African trade unionism, and this made Germiston fertile ground for the Labour Party. While less safe than seats like Benoni or Jeppes, the party held Germiston during its nationwide peaks in 1920 and 1924-29. Germiston's Labour MP, George Brown, died in office in 1932, and the resulting by-election was won by a young J. G. N. Strauss, later leader of the opposition. In 1938, Germiston was split into a North and a South seat, which were rearranged after just one five-year term into a town and a district seat - Strauss chose to represent Germiston District, and Germiston reverted to Labour for one term before falling to the Herenigde Nasionale Party in 1948.

In its second iteration, Germiston was a safe seat for the governing National Party. Its longest-serving MP, Willem Adriaan Cruywagen, was a cabinet minister under Verwoerd and Vorster, and was later appointed Administrator of the Transvaal.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 F. D. P. Chaplin Unionist
1915 D. F. Drew
1920 George Brown Labour
1921 H. S. McAlister South African
1924 George Brown Labour
1929
1932 by J. G. N. Strauss South African
1933
1934 United
1938 Constituency abolished
ElectionMemberParty
1943 A. C. Payne Labour
1948 Johannes du Pisanie HNP
1953 National
1958
1961 W. A. Cruywagen
1966
1970
1974
1977
1979 byD. S. van Eeden
1981
1987 Derek Christophers
1989
1994 Constituency abolished

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Germiston
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist F. D. P. Chaplin 1,114 57.7 New
Labour J. Coward81642.3New
Majority 29815.4N/A
Unionist win (new seat)
General election 1915: Germiston
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist D. F. Drew 905 55.7 −2.0
Labour P. F. Smith71944.3+2.0
Majority 18611.4−4.0
Turnout 1,62469.0N/A
Unionist hold Swing -2.0

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Germiston
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Brown 880 37.0 −7.3
National H. H. Moll84435.5New
Unionist H. S. McAlister65227.4−28.3
Majority 361.5N/A
Turnout 2,37669.7+0.7
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +10.5
General election 1921: Germiston
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African H. S. McAlister 1,039 39.6 +12.2
National H. H. Moll99637.9+2.4
Labour George Brown 59222.5−14.5
Majority 431.7N/A
Turnout 2,62771.1+1.4
South African gain from Labour Swing N/A

References

  1. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.
  3. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (1972). "House of Assembly" (vol. 5, pp. 617–636). Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou).
  4. South Africa 1980/81: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
  5. South Africa 1983: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
  6. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 10751. 22 May 1987. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.
  7. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 12109. 20 September 1989. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.