Wellington North (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington North
Wellington North
Single-member general constituency for the New ZealandHouse of Representatives
Formation	1905, 2026
Region	Wellington
Character	Urban
Term	3 years
Member for Wellington North
	;

Last updated September 21, 2025

Wellington North was, from 1905 to 1946, a parliamentary electorate within the area encompassing New Zealand's capital, Wellington. The electorate was represented by four members of parliament; it is being reintroduced for the 2026 general election following the 2025 boundary review.^[1]

Population centres

The seat covers the central and northern suburbs of Wellington including the CBD, Thorndon, Pipitea, Te Aro, Aro Valley, Oriental Bay, Mount Victoria, Kelburn, Northland, Karori, Wilton, Ngaio, Khandallah, Broadmeadows, Kaiwharawhara, Crofton Downs and Wadestown.^[2]

History

Through the City Single Electorates Act, 1903, the three-member electorates of the four main centres were split again, and this became effective at the end of the 15th Parliament and was thus used for the 1905 election. The City of Wellington electorate was split into the Wellington East, Wellington Central, and Wellington North electorates.^[3] The electorate covered areas north of the central city. For the purpose of the country quota, the electorate has always been regarded as fully urban.^[4] In the 1937 electoral redistribution, Somes Island was transferred from the Hutt to the Wellington North electorate.^[5]

The electorate is being reintroduced for the 2026 general election after the 2025 boundary review to accommodate the reduction of one North Island electorate and the general population shifts to the northern suburbs of Wellington.^[6]

Members of parliament

Until its abolishment in 1946, the electorate was represented by four members of parliament.^[7]

Charles Hayward Izard of the Liberal Party was the electorate's first representative from 1905 to 1908,^[8] when he was defeated by Alexander Herdman.^[9] Herdman had previously represented the Mount Ida electorate. He joined the Reform Party but resigned from Parliament in February 1918.^[10]

Herdman was succeeded by John Luke of the Reform Party in the resulting 1918 by-election.^[11] In the 1928 election, Luke was defeated by Charles Chapman of the Labour Party. Chapman represented the electorate from 1928 to 1946, and moved to the Wellington Central electorate when Wellington North was abolished.^[12]

Key

Liberal Conservative Reform Labour

Election	Winner
1905 election		Charles Hayward Izard
1908 election		Alexander Herdman
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election		John Luke
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election		Charles Chapman
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election
(electorate abolished 1946; see Onslow)

Election results

1943 election

1943 general election: Wellington North^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Chapman	7,348	49.80	−10.29
	National	Thomas Hislop	5,451	36.94
	Democratic Labour	Horace Herring	1,016	6.89
	People's Movement	Rugby Malcolm	427	2.89
	Independent	Arthur Carman	298	2.02
Informal votes			215	1.46	+0.77
Majority			1,897	12.86	−7.83
Turnout			14,755

1938 election

1938 general election: Wellington North^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Chapman	9,522	60.09	+16.47
	Independent Liberal	Elizabeth Gilmer	6,244	39.40	+2.65
	Independent	Thomas Folckman Simpson	80	0.50
Informal votes			110	0.69	−0.22
Majority			3,278	20.69	+13.82
Turnout			15,956	85.29	+1.87
Registered electors			18,709

1935 election

1935 general election: Wellington North^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Chapman	5,039	43.62	−0.61
	Independent	Elizabeth Gilmer	4,245	36.75
	Reform	Charles Treadwell	2,266	19.61
Informal votes			106	0.91	+0.25
Majority			794	6.87	−3.49
Turnout			11,550	83.42	+12.09
Registered electors			13,845

1931 election

1931 general election: Wellington North^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Chapman	4,531	44.23	−4.84
	Reform	George Troup	3,470	33.87
	Independent	John Luke	2,243	21.90	−26.74
Informal votes			68	0.66	−1.63
Majority			1,061	10.36	+9.95
Turnout			10,312	71.33	−10.10
Registered electors			14,457

1928 election

1928 general election: Wellington North^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Chapman	5,611	49.07
	Reform	John Luke	5,564	48.64	−2.66
Informal votes			263	2.29	+1.15
Majority			47	0.41
Turnout			11,438	81.43	−7.22
Registered electors			14,046

1925 election

1925 general election: Wellington North^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	John Luke	5,712	51.30	+7.40
	Labour	Harry Combs	3,766	33.82	−6.52
	Liberal	Jack McGrath	1,528	13.72
Informal votes			127	1.14	+0.02
Majority			1,946	17.47	+13.91
Turnout			11,133	88.65	−0.98
Registered electors			12,558

1922 election

1922 general election: Wellington North^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	John Luke	4,624	43.90	+1.20
	Labour	Harry Combs	4,249	40.34
	Liberal	James Young	1,540	14.62
Informal votes			118	1.12	+0.21
Majority			375	3.56	−7.81
Turnout			10,531	89.63	+11.30
Registered electors			11,749

1919 election

1919 general election: Wellington North^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	John Luke	3,999	42.70	+0.81
	Liberal	H. Oakley Browne	2,934	31.33
	Labour	John Read	2,345	25.04
Majority			1,065	11.37	+5.48
Informal votes			86	0.91	+0.35
Turnout			9,364	78.33
Registered electors			11,954

1918 by-election

1918 Wellington North by-election ^[21]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	John Luke	2,986	41.89
	Labour	Harry Holland	2,566	35.99	+15.50
	Liberal	Alfred Brandon	816	11.44
	Independent Liberal	Angus James Neville Polson	720	10.10
Majority			420	5.89
Informal votes			40	0.56	−0.70
Turnout			7,128
	Reform hold		Swing

1914 election

1914 general election: Wellington North^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Alexander Herdman	4,550	55.23	+2.15
	Liberal	William Turnbull	1,895	23.00
	Social Democrat	Harry Holland	1,688	20.49
Majority			2,655	32.23	+3.61
Informal votes			104	1.26	−0.46
Turnout			8,237	82.90	+8.75
Registered electors			9,936

1911 election

1911 general election: Wellington North^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Alexander Herdman	4,193	53.08	−2.93
	Liberal	Arnold Woodford Izard	2,386	30.20
	Labour	Elijah Carey	1,185	15.00
Informal votes			136	1.72	+1.30
Majority			2,261	28.62	+16.17
Turnout			7,900	74.15	+6.91
Registered electors			10,654

1908 election

1908 general election: Wellington North, first ballot ^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Herdman	2,824	41.57
	Independent Liberal	Frederick Bolton	1,858	27.35
	Liberal	Charles Hayward Izard	1,833	26.98	−23.84
	Independent	Henry Bodley	131	1.92
Informal votes			147	2.16	+0.73
Turnout			6,793	68.85
Second ballot result
	Conservative	Alexander Herdman	3,716	56.01	+14.44
	Independent Liberal	Frederick Bolton	2,890	43.56	+16.21
Informal votes			28	0.42	−1.74
Majority			826	12.45
Turnout			6,634	67.24	−1.61

1905 election

1905 general election: Wellington North^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Charles Hayward Izard	3,283	50.82
	Conservative	John Duthie	2,794	43.25
	Ind. Labour League	George Macfarlane	290	4.48
Informal votes			93	1.43
Majority			489	7.56
Turnout			6,460

Notes

↑ Natanahira, Tuwhenuaroa; Online, Māori news journalist in Parliament RNZ (8 August 2025). "From new names to new boundaries: Here's what's happening to your voting electorate". RNZ. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
↑ Natanahira, Tuwhenuaroa; Online, Māori news journalist in Parliament RNZ (8 August 2025). "From new names to new boundaries: Here's what's happening to your voting electorate". RNZ. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 66ff.
↑ McRobie 1989, p. 71.
↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 90f.
↑ Report of the Representation Commission 2025 (PDF). Representation Commission. 8 August 2025. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-473-75233-0 . Retrieved 16 September 2025.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 276.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 207.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 204, 207.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 204.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 213.
↑ Wilson 1985, p. 189.
↑ "Public Notices". The Evening Post . Vol. CXXXVI, no. 136. 6 December 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
↑ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
↑ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
↑ "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington North". The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 140. 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
↑ The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
↑ The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
↑ The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
↑ Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
↑ "Wellington North". Colonist. Vol. LX, no. 14665. 20 March 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Wellington North electorate". Free Lance. Vol. XVII, no. 919. 22 February 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. pp. 1–33. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
↑ "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 1–14. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
↑ "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
↑ "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

References

McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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[1] Natanahira, Tuwhenuaroa; Online, Māori news journalist in Parliament RNZ (8 August 2025). "From new names to new boundaries: Here's what's happening to your voting electorate". RNZ. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[2] Natanahira, Tuwhenuaroa; Online, Māori news journalist in Parliament RNZ (8 August 2025). "From new names to new boundaries: Here's what's happening to your voting electorate". RNZ. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198966ff-3] McRobie 1989, pp. 66ff.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198971-4] McRobie 1989, p. 71.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198990f-5] McRobie 1989, pp. 90f.

[6] Report of the Representation Commission 2025 (PDF). Representation Commission. 8 August 2025. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-473-75233-0 . Retrieved 16 September 2025.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985276-7] Wilson 1985, p. 276.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985207-8] Wilson 1985, p. 207.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985204,_207-9] Wilson 1985, p. 204, 207.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985204-10] Wilson 1985, p. 204.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985213-11] Wilson 1985, p. 213.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985189-12] Wilson 1985, p. 189.

[13] "Public Notices". The Evening Post . Vol. CXXXVI, no. 136. 6 December 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 4 May 2015.

[1938_election-14] "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2014.

[The_General_Election_1935-15] The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

[16] "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington North". The Evening Post . Vol. CXII, no. 140. 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.

[1928_election-17] The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2014.

[18] The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2014.

[19] The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2016.

[Year-Book_1920-20] Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

[1918_by-election_result-21] "Wellington North". Colonist. Vol. LX, no. 14665. 20 March 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[22] "Wellington North electorate". Free Lance. Vol. XVII, no. 919. 22 February 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[General_Election,_1914-23] Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. pp. 1–33. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[1911_election-24] "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 1–14. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[1908_election-25] "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.

[General_Election,_1905-26] "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

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