Pahiatua (New Zealand electorate)
Pahiatua is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Wairarapa region. It existed from 1896 to 1996, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years.
Population centres
In the 1896 electoral redistribution, rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Four electorates that previously existed were re-established, and three electorates were established for the first time, including Pahiatua.[1] The original area of the Pahiatua electorate included the towns of Pahiatua and Woodville.[2] Over time, the electorate shifted slightly north, until the town of Dannevirke was covered following the 1918 electoral redistribution.[3]
The 1946 electoral redistribution took the abolition of the country quota into account, and as a rural electorate, the area covered by the Pahiatua electorate increased significantly.[4] The Masterton electorate to the south was abolished, and its area distributed to the Wairarapa and Pahiatua electorate. Eketahuna and Castlepoint were gained by the electorate in that process.[5]
History
The Pahiatua electorate existed from 1896 to 1996. Early holders of the seat were John O'Meara from 1896 to 1904, William Henry Hawkins from 1904 to 1905, Robert Beatson Ross from 1905 to 1911, James Escott from 1911 to 1916, Harold Smith from 1916 to 1919, Archibald McNicol from 1919 to 1922, and Alfred Ransom from 1922 to 1943.[6]
The seat was held by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years, until he resigned to become Governor-General.[7] In 1996 John Falloon, who had been the MP for Pahiatua for 19 years, chose to retire.
Members of Parliament
Key
Liberal Reform United National
Election results
1916 by-election
| Pahiatua by-election, 1916[8][9] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Reform | Harold Smith | 1,521 | 47.57 | ||
| Liberal | Robert Ross | 1,438 | 44.97 | ||
| Labour | G D McFarlane | 238 | 7.44 | ||
| Majority | 83 | 2.59 | |||
| Turnout | 3,197 | 51.23 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,241[10] | ||||
| Reform hold | Swing | ||||
1899 election
| General election, 1899: Pahiatua[11] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | John O'Meara (politician) | 2,058 | 54.92 | +23.31 | |
| Opposition | Harold Smith | 1,689 | 45.08 | ||
| Majority | 369 | 9.85 | +8.90 | ||
| Turnout | 3,747 | 83.25 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,501 | ||||
1896 election
| General election, 1896: Pahiatua[12][13][14] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | John O'Meara | 1,004 | 31.61 | ||
| Opposition | Robert Manisty | 974 | 30.67 | ||
| Liberal | William Wilson McCardle | 848 | 26.70 | ||
| Independent Liberal | James Taylor | 233 | 7.34 | ||
| Opposition | George Whitcombe | 117 | 3.68 | ||
| Majority | 30 | 0.94 | |||
| Informal votes | |||||
| Registered electors | 4,125 | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
Notes
- ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 63.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 62.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 62–79.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 95.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 90–94.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 269.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 206.
- ↑ "Pahiatua by-election". Bay of Plenty Times. 18 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ↑ "Pahiatua by-election". Sun. 7 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 75.
- ↑ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ↑ "The General Election". Auckland Star. XXVII (305). 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ↑ "List of Candidates". The Star (5733). 28 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ↑ "Pahiatua Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times XVI (5498). 30 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 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.