Hokitika (New Zealand electorate)

Last updated

Hokitika is a former parliamentary electorate in the West Coast region of New Zealand, based on the town of Hokitika. It existed from 1871 to 1890 and was represented by nine members of parliament. For a time, it was one of the two-member electorates in New Zealand.

Contents

History

The Hokitika electorate existed from the 1871 general election to 1890. John White was its first representative until the end of the parliamentary term in 1875, when he retired. [1]

Beginning with the 1875–1876 general election, which was held in Hokitika on 14 January 1876, the electorate was represented by two members. Edmund Barff and Charles Button were elected, Robert Reid and Richard Seddon (the later Premier) were defeated, and Conrad Hoos withdrew just before the election. [2] [3] Barff served the whole term until 1879, [4] while Button resigned in May 1878 [5] and was succeeded by Seymour Thorne George in an 1878 by-election, and who a year later successfully stood in the Rodney electorate. [6]

Robert Reid [7] and Richard Seddon were elected in the 1879 general election. Seddon, who was later Premier ("King Dick"), was in 1881 elected for Kumara. [8] Reid contested the 1881 general election against Gerard George Fitzgerald, with the latter being successful. [9] [10]

John Bevan won the 1884 general election, [11] and he was succeeded in the 1887 election by Joseph Grimmond. [12] In 1890, the Hokitika electorate was abolished. [13] Grimmond stood in the Westland electorate instead, but was defeated by Richard Seddon. [14]

Members of parliament

Hokitika was represented by nine members of parliament. [15]

1871 to 1875

From 1871 to 1875, Hokitika was a single-member electorate. It was represented by one Member of Parliament.

ElectionWinner
1871 election John White

1876 to 1881

From 1876 to 1881, Hokitika was a two-member electorate. It was represented by five Members of Parliament.

ElectionWinners
1876 election Edmund Barff Charles Button
1878 by-election Seymour Thorne George
1879 election Robert Reid Richard Seddon

1881 to 1890

From 1881 to 1890, Hokitika was again a single-member electorate, represented by three Members of Parliament.

ElectionWinner
1881 election Gerard George Fitzgerald
1884 election John Bevan
1887 election Joseph Grimmond

Election results

1887 election

1887 general election: Hokitika [16] [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Joseph Grimmond 830 57.64
Independent John Bevan 61042.36−6.60
Majority22015.28+11.13
Turnout 1,44070.38+1.12
Registered electors 2,046

1884 election

1884 general election: Hokitika [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent John Bevan 684 48.96
Independent Gerard George Fitzgerald 62644.81−11.63
Independent James Clarke [19] 876.23
Majority584.15−8.73
Turnout 1,39769.26−2.38
Registered electors 2,017

1881 election

1881 general election: Hokitika [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Gerard George Fitzgerald 653 56.44
Independent Robert Reid 50443.56
Majority14912.88+4.25
Turnout 1,15771.64
Registered electors 1,615

1879 election

1879 general election: Hokitika [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Robert Reid 917 33.09
Independent Richard Seddon 800 28.87
Independent Peter Dungan [22] 56120.25
Independent Edmund Barff 40314.54
Independent Hamilton Cuming [22] 903.25
Majority239 [nb 1] 8.63
Turnout 2,771
Registered electors 1,823 [23] [nb 2]

1878 by-election

1878 Hokitika by-election [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Seymour Thorne George 884 52.84
Independent Gerard George Fitzgerald 78947.16
Majority955.68
Turnout 1,67391.77
Registered electors 1,823

1876 election

1876 general election: Hokitika [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Edmund Barff 648 30.71
Independent Charles Button 586 27.77
Independent Robert Reid 52724.98
Independent Richard Seddon 34316.26
Independent Conrad Hoos 60.28
Majority59 [nb 3]
Registered electors 1,547 [23] [nb 4]

Table footnotes

  1. As two members were elected, majority is the difference between the second and third candidate
  2. Electors had two votes each
  3. As two members were elected, majority is the difference between the second and third candidate
  4. Electors had two votes each

Notes

  1. Wilson 1985, p. 245.
  2. 1 2 "Declaration of the Poll". West Coast Times. No. 3219. 19 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. "West Coast Times". West Coast Times. No. 3213. 12 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  4. Scholefield 1950, p. 94.
  5. Scholefield 1950, p. 99.
  6. Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
  7. Scholefield 1950, p. 134.
  8. Scholefield 1950, p. 138.
  9. "Westland". Tuapeka Times. Vol. XIV, no. 797. 14 December 1881. p. 5. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  10. Scholefield 1950, p. 106.
  11. Scholefield 1950, p. 96.
  12. Scholefield 1950, p. 110.
  13. Scholefield 1950, p. 159.
  14. "Westland". Clutha Leader. Vol. XVII, no. 856. 12 December 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  15. Wilson 1985.
  16. Cooper, G. S. (1887). The General Election, 1887. National Library. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  17. "General Assembly election". West Coast Times. No. 6609. 11 October 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  18. Cooper, G. S. (1884). The General Election, 1884. National Library. p. 5. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  19. "West Coast Times". West Coast Times. No. 4658. 3 July 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  20. Cooper, G. S. (1882). Votes Recorded for Each Candidate. Government Printer. p. 2. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  21. "Hokitika District Election". West Coast Times. No. 3260. 11 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  22. 1 2 "West Coast Times". West Coast Times. No. 3234. 12 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  23. 1 2 McRobie 1989, p. 44.
  24. "The Hokitika Election". West Coast Times. No. 2882. 29 June 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2015.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Coast (New Zealand electorate)</span> Electoral district in New Zealand

East Coast is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate first existed from 1871 to 1893, and was recreated in 1999. The current MP for East Coast is Dana Kirkpatrick of the National Party, who has held office since 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson (New Zealand electorate)</span> Electoral district in Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson. The electorate is the only one that has continuously existed since the 1st Parliament in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Reeves (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Richard Harman Jeffares Reeves was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. He was acting Speaker of the Legislative Council in 1905.

Grey Valley is a former parliamentary electorate in the West Coast region of New Zealand. The electorate was created for the 1871 general election as a single-member electorate, became a two-member electorate for the 1876 general election, and was split between the single-member electorates of Greymouth and Inangahua for the 1881 general election.

Thames is a former New Zealand electorate, in the Thames-Coromandel District. It existed from 1871 to 1946.

Newton was a 19th-century parliamentary electorate in Auckland, New Zealand. It existed from 1861 to 1893 and was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

Kumara was a parliamentary electorate in the West Coast region of New Zealand, from 1881 to 1890.

Gladstone was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, from 1866 to 1890.

Westland Boroughs was a parliamentary electorate in the West Coast of New Zealand from 1866 to 1870.

Westland South was a parliamentary electorate on the West Coast of New Zealand from 1868 to 1870.

Westland was a parliamentary electorate in the West Coast of New Zealand from 1866 to 1868 and 1890 to 1972. In 1972 the Tasman and West Coast electorates replaced the former Buller and Westland electorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Button</span> New Zealand politician, solicitor, judge (1838–1920)

Charles Edward Button was a solicitor, Supreme Court judge, Mayor of Hokitika and later Birkenhead, and an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Born in Tasmania, he came to New Zealand with his wife in 1863. He first lived in Invercargill, then in Westland, and after a brief period in Christchurch, he settled in Auckland. He was an MP for two periods, and when he was first elected to Parliament, he beat his colleague, friend, political opponent, and later Premier Richard Seddon; this was the only election defeat ever suffered by Seddon.

Edmund Barff was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand.

John Bevan was a 19th-century member of the House of Representatives. He was an auctioneer and merchant from Hokitika on the West Coast of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Grimmond</span> New Zealand politician

Joseph Grimmond was a gold miner and politician from the West Coast, New Zealand. He was mayor of Ross for many years, represented the Hokitika electorate in the House of Representatives for one term, and was later called to the Legislative Council.

Robert Caldwell Reid was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand. Born in Scotland and attracted by the gold rushes in Victoria and the West Coast, he was later the proprietor of a series of newspapers.

John White was a 19th-century member of the House of Representatives from the West Coast, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westland High School, Hokitika</span> School in New Zealand

Westland High School, previously Hokitika High School or Hokitika District High School, is a secondary school in Hokitika, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westland County</span> Provinces of New Zealand in South Island

Westland County, also known as County of Westland, was a local government area on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It existed from 1868 to 1873, and then from 1876 until 1989. In its first incarnation, it constituted the government for the area that was split from the Canterbury Province, with the West Coast Gold Rush having given the impetus for that split. It had the same administrative powers as a provincial council, but the legislative power rested with Parliament in Wellington. The first Westland County was the predecessor to Westland Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1878 Hokitika by-election</span> New Zealand by-election

The Hokitika by-election 1878 was a by-election held in the multi-member Hokitika electorate during the 6th New Zealand Parliament, on 26 June 1878. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Charles Button and was won by Seymour Thorne George, who defeated Gerard George Fitzgerald. Thorne George was suggested as a candidate by the premier, Sir George Grey; he was the Premier's nephew, and lived in the North Island.

References