Wellington North (New Zealand electorate)

For the former Canadian electoral district, see Wellington North.

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.

Population centres

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.[1] 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.[2] In the 1937 electoral redistribution, Somes Island was transferred from the Hutt to the Wellington North electorate.[3]

History

Charles Hayward Izard of the Liberal Party was the electorate's first representative from 1905 to 1908,[4] when he was defeated by Alexander Herdman.[5] Herdman had previously represented the Mount Ida electorate. He joined the Reform Party but resigned from Parliament in February 1918.[6]

Herdman was succeeded by John Luke of the Reform Party in the resulting 1918 by-election.[7] In the 1928 election, Luke was defeated by Charles Henry 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.[8]

Members of Parliament

The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament:[9]

Key

 Liberal    Independent    Reform    Labour  

Election Winner
1905 election Charles Hayward Izard
1908 election Alexander Herdman
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election John Luke
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election Charles Henry Chapman
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election

Election results

1938 election

General election, 1938: Wellington North[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Henry Chapman 9,522 60.09
Independent Liberal Elizabeth Gilmer 6,244 39.40
Independent Thomas Folckman Simpson 80 0.50
Majority 3,278 20.69
Informal votes 110 0.69
Turnout 15,956 85.29
Registered electors 18,709

1931 election

General election, 1931: Wellington North[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Henry Chapman 4,531 44.23
Reform George Troup 3,470 33.87
Independent John Luke 2,243 21.90
Majority 1,061 10.36
Informal votes 68 0.66
Turnout 10,312 71.33
Registered electors 14,457

Notes

  1. McRobie 1989, pp. 66ff.
  2. McRobie 1989, p. 71.
  3. McRobie 1989, pp. 90f.
  4. Wilson 1985, p. 207.
  5. Wilson 1985, p. 204, 207.
  6. Wilson 1985, p. 204.
  7. Wilson 1985, p. 213.
  8. Wilson 1985, p. 189.
  9. Wilson 1985, p. 276.
  10. "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  11. "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington North". The Evening Post CXII (140). 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.

References