New Zealand general election, 1893
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The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held on 28 November and 20 December in the European and Māori electorates, respectively, to elect 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The election was won by the Liberal Party, and Richard Seddon became Prime Minister.
1893 was the year universal suffrage was granted to women over 21 (including Māori), plural registration was abolished, plural voting for Māori property-owners was abolished, and only those whose descent was exactly half Māori were allowed to choose whether to vote in European or Māori electorates. Women's suffrage was the most consequential change.
1892 electoral redistribution
The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1890 for the 1890 election. The 1891 census was the first to automatically trigger an electoral redistribution, which was undertaken in 1892. The population drift to the North Island resulted in the transfer of one electorate from the south to the north. Only three electorates remained with unaltered boundaries: Thames, Wairarapa, and Timaru.[1] 14 new electorates were established, and of those, eight electorates were established for the first time: Bay of Plenty, Otaki, Pareora, Patea, Riccarton, Waiapu, Waimea-Sounds, and Wellington Suburbs. The remaining six electorates had existed before, and they were re-established for the 12th Parliament: Caversham, Chalmers, Lyttelton, Rangitata, Waihemo, and Waipa.[2]
Women's suffrage
By far the most notable change for the 1893 election was that the Electoral Act, 1893, extended the franchise to all women (including Māori) aged 21 and over.[3] Women's suffrage was granted after about two decades of campaigning by women such as Kate Sheppard and Mary Ann Müller and organisations such as the New Zealand branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union led by Anne Ward.[4] Of countries presently independent, New Zealand was the first to give women the vote in modern times.[5] John Hall, a conservative politician and former premier, received most of the credit for pushing the legislation through Parliament; he is the only male who has his name inscribed on the national Kate Sheppard memorial.[5] There were only 10 weeks between the passage of the legislation and the election, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) set about to enrol as many women as possible.[4]
The election
The 1893 election was held on Tuesday, 28 November in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th Parliament.[6][7]
A total number of 302,997 (75.3%) voters turned out to vote.[8] 65% of all eligible New Zealand women voted in the 1893 election.[4] In 3 seats there was only one candidate.[9] 31 and 39 electorates were in the North Island and South Island, respectively, plus the 4 Māori electorates.[10]
Results
Party totals
The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution according to Wilson (1985), who records Maori representatives as Independents prior to the 1905 election.[11]
| Party | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | 175,814 | 57.80% | 51 | |
| Opposition | 74,482 | 24.49% | 13 | |
| Independent | 53,880 | 17.71% | 10 | |
Electorate results
The following is a table of electorate results by electorate. Key
Liberal Independent Opposition Liberal-Labour
Table footnotes:
- ↑ Robert Thompson was an Independent in the previous Parliament
- ↑ Jackson Palmer was listed as Government in contemporary media, but as an Independent by Wilson
- ↑ The affiliation of many of the Māori candidates is unknown or uncertain
Notes
- ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 55–60.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 59f.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 59.
- 1 2 3 Malcolm, Tessa K. "Sheppard, Katherine Wilson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- 1 2 "One giant leap for womankind". The New Zealand Herald. 13 November 2013. pp. F24–F25. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ↑ "The General Election, 1893". National Library. 1894. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ↑ "The general Election". Otago Daily Times. 23 December 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 286.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 173.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 287–289.
- ↑ "The General Election, 1893". National Library. 1894. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- 1 2 "The General Election". Otago Daily Times. 28 November 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ↑ "Electorate City of Auckland". Auckland Star XXIV (273). 17 November 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Page 4 Advertisements Column 3". The Northern Advocate. 25 November 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ↑ "Public Notice". Bay of Plenty Times. 20 November 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ↑ "Hawke's Bay Electorate". Hawke's Bay Herald. XXVIII (9544). 2 December 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- ↑ "The General Elections". The Press L (8651). 28 November 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Borough Of Carterton". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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.
External links
- Roll of Members of the House of Representatives, August 1896 (i.e. prior to the next general election)
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