Wellington (New Zealand electorate)

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Wellington (originally City of Wellington), was a parliamentary electorate in Wellington, New Zealand. It existed from 1853 to 1905 with a break in the 1880s. It was a multi-member electorate. The electorate was represented, over the years, by 24 members of parliament.

Contents

Population centres

In December 1887, the House of Representatives voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, and Wellington was one of eight electorates to be re-created for the 1890 election. [1]

History

The electorate was one of the original electorates used in the 1853 election for the 1st New Zealand Parliament. During the period until 1871, Wellington was a three-member electorate.

In 1858, Isaac Featherston and William Fitzherbert resigned their seats in Parliament. [2] Featherston apparently wanted to return to England. [3] Instead, he successfully stood for re-election within months. The other person returned in the same by-election was William Barnard Rhodes. [4]

The election for the 3rd Parliament was held on 11 December 1860, [5] with the announcement of the official results on 15 December. [6]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent   Liberal   Conservative   Liberal–Labour   Independent Liberal

Three-member electorate (1853–1871)

ElectionWinner(s)
1853 election Charles Clifford Robert Hart James Kelham
1855 election Isaac Featherston William Fitzherbert
1858 by-election Isaac Featherston William Rhodes
1860 election William Taylor [7]
1866 election Charles Borlase [8]

Two-member electorate (1871–1881)

ElectionWinner(s)
1871 election George Hunter Edward Pearce [9]
1875 election
1877 by-election William Travers
1878 by-election George Elliott Barton [10]
1879 election William Hutchison [11] William Levin [12]
(Electorate abolished 1881–1890)

Three-member electorate (1890–1905)

From 1881 to 1890, the Wellington electorate was replaced by three separate electorates: Te Aro and Thorndon during the whole nine years, and Wellington South (until 1887) then Wellington East (1887–1890)

ElectionWinner(s)
1890 election George Fisher Kennedy Macdonald [13] John Duthie
1892 by-election William McLean [14]
1893 election Francis Bell Robert Stout
1896 election George Fisher John Hutcheson
1898 by-election [15] John Duthie
1899 by-election John Hutcheson
1899 election Arthur Atkinson
1902 election John Duthie John Aitken
1905 by-election Francis Fisher
(Electorate abolished 1905; see Wellington Central, Wellington East, and Wellington North)

In 1905 the Wellington electorate was again replaced by three electorates: Wellington Central, Wellington East, and Wellington North. In the 1905 election, all three Wellington incumbents stood in the new electorates, with Fisher and Aitken winning in Central and East respectively, while Duthie lost to Charles Izard in Wellington North – ending his parliamentary career.

Election results

1905 by-election

1905 City of Wellington by-election [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Liberal Francis Fisher 4,692 42.06
Liberal Charles Izard 3,44130.84
Liberal–Labour John Hutcheson 3,02127.08
Majority 1,25111.21
Turnout 11,154
Independent Liberal gain from Liberal Swing

1902 election

1902 New Zealand general election [17] [18] [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Aitken 7,808 55.29
Conservative John Duthie 6,886 48.76
Liberal George Fisher 6,685 47.34
Independent Liberal Patrick O'Regan 6,30444.64
Conservative Arthur Atkinson 6,09443.15
Liberal John Findlay 4,76433.74
Liberal James Godber1,43710.18
Liberal Edwin George Jellicoe [20] 1,3849.80
Labour David McLaren 1,0037.10
Majority 38112.70
Informal votes328
Total votes42,365
Turnout 14,12266.56
Registered electors 21,218

1 Majority is difference between lowest winning poll (Fisher: 6,685) and highest losing poll (O'Regan: 6,304)

Participation by gender%
FemaleTurnout7,31272.00
Enrolled females10,15547.86
MaleEnrolled males11,06352.14

1899 election

1899 New Zealand general election [21] [22]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal–Labour John Hutcheson 7,436 51.06 +2.38
Conservative Arthur Atkinson 6,703 46.02 +1.75
Liberal George Fisher 6,442 44.23 −0.26
Liberal Kennedy Macdonald 6,32043.39
Conservative Thomas William Hislop 6,29743.23
Independent Liberal Edwin George Jellicoe [20] 4,75132.62
Liberal Charles Luke 3,81226.17
Independent Liberal Thomas Carmichael1,0046.89
Liberal–Labour William Earnshaw 8515.84
Independent Liberal Denton Burnett Duncan780.54
Majority 12210.84+0.04
Total votes43,694
Turnout 14,56577.17+8.95
Registered electors 18,874

1 Majority is difference between lowest winning poll (Fisher: 6,442) and highest losing poll (Macdonald: 6,320)

Participation by gender%
FemaleTurnout7,08079.30
Enrolled females8,92847.30
MaleEnrolled males9,94652.70

1899 by-election

1899 City of Wellington by-election [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal–Labour John Hutcheson 6,94558.28
Independent Edwin George Jellicoe [20] 4,97141.72
Majority 1,97416.57
Turnout 11,916

1898 by-election

1898 City of Wellington by-election [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Duthie 7,283 53.80
Liberal Richard Clement Kirk6,25446.20
Majority 1,0297.60
Turnout 13,53777.26
Registered electors 17,522 [25]

1896 election

1896 New Zealand general election [26] [27] [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal–Labour John Hutcheson 6,410 48.68
Independent Robert Stout 6,305 47.88
Liberal George Fisher 5,858 44.49
Conservative Arthur Atkinson 5,83044.27
Liberal Charles Wilson 5,56942.29
Conservative Andrew Agnew Stuart Menteath 5,55942.22
Liberal Francis Fraser 1,81113.75
Independent Justinian John Kivern Powell1851.40
Liberal Arthur Warburton910.69
Majority 28 10.21
Total votes37,618
Turnout 13,168 [29] 268.21
Registered electors 19,304 [30]

1 Majority is difference between lowest winning poll (Fisher: 5,858) and highest losing poll (Atkinson: 5,830)

2 Turnout is total number of voters – as voters had three votes each total votes cast was higher (37,618)

1893 election

1893 New Zealand general election [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Robert Stout 6,218 46.73
Conservative Francis Bell 5,773 43.39
Conservative John Duthie 4,840 36.37
Liberal Kennedy Macdonald 3,86329.03
Liberal Francis Fraser 3,72928.02
Independent Harry Vogel3,60627.10
Liberal William McLean [14] 3,43825.84
Liberal George Fisher 2,38517.92
Independent Thomas Dwan1,1578.70
Independent William Travers 1,0938.21
Majority 9771
Informal votes147
Total votes36,249
Turnout 13,306 280.66
Registered electors 16,497

1893 was the first election in which women could vote (the electoral act giving women the vote was passed ten weeks prior to the election). [32] Electoral returns quantified female enrolment and turnout, and showed women's turnout was higher than men's while women's enrolment was lower.

Participation by gender%
FemaleTurnout6,14684.42
Enrolled females7,28044.13
MaleTurnout7,16077.68
Enrolled males9,21755.87

1 Majority is difference between lowest winning poll (Duthie – 4,840) and highest losing poll (Mcdonald – 3,863)

2 Turnout is total number of voters – as voters had three votes each total votes cast was higher (36,102 valid, and 147 invalid votes)

1892 by-election

1892 City of Wellington by-election [33] [34]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal William McLean 3,388 51.08 +30.97
Conservative Francis Bell 3,24548.92+5.31
Majority 1432.16−1.32
Turnout 6,63375.50+15.49
Registered electors 8,786

1890 election

1890 New Zealand general election [35]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal George Fisher 2,828 53.64
Conservative John Duthie 2,779 52.71
Liberal Kennedy Macdonald 2,482 47.08
Conservative Francis Bell 2,29943.61
Liberal Edwin George Jellicoe [20] 1,92135.98
Liberal Francis Fraser 1,75533.29
Liberal William McLean [14] 1,06020.11
Liberal Robert Winter [36] 71613.58
Majority 1833.47
Total votes15,816
Turnout 5,27260.00
Registered electors 8,786

1878 by-election

1878 City of Wellington by-election [37] [38] [39] [40]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent George Elliott Barton 506 41.04
Independent Colonel E. Pearce46337.58
Independent William Hutchison 26321.41
Majority 433.49
Informal votes
Turnout 1232
Registered electors

1877 by-election

1877 City of Wellington by-election [41] [42]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent William Travers 572 50.00
Independent William Hutchison 55748.69
Majority 151.31
Informal votes
Turnout 1129
Registered electors

1858 by-election

1858 City of Wellington by-election [43]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Isaac Featherston 360
Independent William Rhodes 352
Independent Jerningham Wakefield 349
Independent William Bowler [44] 347
Majority 3 [nb 1]
Total votes1,408
Table footnotes
  1. ↑ Majority is the difference between lowest winning poll (Rhodes: 352) and highest losing poll (Wakefield: 349)

1855 election

1855 City of Wellington election [45]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Charles Clifford 290
Independent Isaac Featherston 289
Independent William Fitzherbert 258
Independent Stephen Carkeek 244
Independent Robert Hart 238
Majority 14 [lb 1]
Total votes1,319
Table footnotes
  1. ↑ Majority is the difference between lowest winning poll (Fitzherbert: 258) and highest losing poll (Carkeek: 244)

Notes

  1. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 54ff.
  2. ↑ "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES". Otago Witness . No. 340. 5 June 1858. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Hamer, David (22 June 2007). "Featherston, Isaac Earl 1813 – 1876". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  4. ↑ "Wellington". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. 1, no. 47. 14 August 1858. p. 2. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "SUMMARY FOR Europe & Australia". Wellington Independent. Vol. XV, no. 1478. 7 December 1860. p. 5. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Declaration of the Poll". Wellington Independent. Vol. XV, no. 1481. 18 December 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  7. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. William Waring Taylor". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. Charles Bonythorne Borlase". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. Edward Pearce". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. George Elliott Barton". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. William Hutchison". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. William Hort Levin". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Mr. Thomas Kennedy Macdonald". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. 1 2 3 Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Wellington Ex-Members of the House Of Representatives". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 20 June 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ↑ "The Wellington City Election". Wanganui Herald. 10 March 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "The Wellington Election". North Otago Times. 7 April 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "1902 New Zealand general election". 1903. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  18. ↑ "Notice of Polling Day". Free Lance. Vol. III, no. 125. 22 November 1902. p. 22. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Wellington City Election". Free Lance. Vol. III, no. 125. 22 November 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Barristers and Solicitors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand . Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "1899 New Zealand general election". 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Untitled". The Evening Post . Vol. LVIII, no. 136. 6 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  23. ↑ "The Wellington Election". Clutha Leader. Vol. XXVI, no. 1319. 28 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  24. ↑ "Wellington Election". The New Zealand Herald . Vol. XXXV, no. 10697. 10 March 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "The Wellington By-Election". Ashburton Guardian. Vol. XIX, no. 4439. 8 March 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  26. ↑ "A Mistake in the Wellington Vote". The Evening Post . Vol. LII, no. 1171. 10 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Page 1 Advertisements Column 3". The Evening Post . Vol. LII, no. 161. 28 November 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  28. ↑ "List of Candidates". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. XXXIII, no. 3411. 2 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  29. ↑ "The Wellington Election". Clutha Leader. 28 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  30. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 63.
  31. ↑ "Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1894 Session I, H-19". 1893 New Zealand general election. 1894. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  32. ↑ Electoral Act, 1893
  33. ↑ "New Zealand". The Marlborough Express . Vol. XXVIII, no. 17. 21 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  34. ↑ "Wellington City Election". Wanganui Herald . Vol. XXVI, no. 7620. 16 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  35. ↑ "1890 New Zealand general election". 1891. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  36. ↑ "Mr Robert Winter at Wellington". The Star . No. 7000. 1 November 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  37. ↑ "City Election: the polling". The Evening Post . Papers Past. 18 February 1878.
  38. ↑ "Wellington Election". Grey River Argus. Papers Past. 19 February 1878.
  39. ↑ "City Election". New Zealand Times. Papers Past. 19 February 1878.
  40. ↑ "Election: Final Result (go down)". The Evening Post . Papers Past. 21 February 1878.
  41. ↑ "The City election: Official declaration of the poll". New Zealand Times. 31 March 1877.
  42. ↑ "Wellington City election". The Oamaru Mail . 28 March 1877.
  43. ↑ "The General Assembly Election". The Wellington Independent. Vol. X, no. 1310. 28 July 1858. p. 3. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  44. ↑ Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF). Vol. I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 83f. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  45. ↑ "The New Zealander". Vol. 11, no. 1010. 22 December 1855. p. 3. Retrieved 29 June 2020.

References

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