22nd New Zealand Parliament

The 22nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Its composition was determined by the 1925 election, and it sat until the 1928 election.[1]

22nd Parliament of New Zealand
← 21st Parliament 23rd Parliament →
Parliament House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	16 June 1926 – 9 October 1928
Election	1925 New Zealand general election
Government	Reform Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Charles Statham
Prime Minister	Gordon Coates
Leader of the Opposition	Harry Holland
Legislative Council
Members	41 (at start) 40 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	Sir Walter Carncross
Leader of the Council	Sir Francis Bell from 23 June 1927 — Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes until 14 September 1926
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George V
Governor-General	HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson

Historical context

The 22nd Parliament saw the Reform Party's Gordon Coates continue his rule as Prime Minister, in the continuing Reform Government.

The 22nd Parliament consisted of 80 representatives chosen by geographical electorates: 46 from North Island electorates, 30 from South Island electorates, and four Māori electorates.[2] The Parliament was elected using the First Past the Post electoral voting system.

In 1926, the Reform candidate Sir James Gunson was expected to "romp home" in the Eden by-election. Reform had 55 seats. But with National (Liberal) having 11 seats plus two Liberal-leaning independents and Labour 12, Labour realised their chance to be the official Opposition, "threw their all" into the contest, and became the official Opposition; helped by Ellen Melville standing as Independent Reform. In 1927 a Labour farmer Lee Martin won the Raglan by-election against a weak Reform candidate plus Country Party, Liberal and Independent Reform candidates. [3]

Parliamentary sessions

The Parliament sat for three sessions:[4]

Session	from	to
First	16 Jun 1926	11 Sep 1926
Second	23 Jun 1927	5 Dec 1927
Third	28 Jun 1928	9 Oct 1928

Party standings

Start of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Reform Party	Gordon Coates	55
	Labour Party	Harry Holland	12
	Liberal Party	George Forbes	11
	Independents		2

End of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at end
	Reform Party	Gordon Coates	53
	Labour Party	Harry Holland	14
	United Party	Sir Joseph Ward	11
	Independents		2

Initial composition of the 22nd Parliament

The election results were as follows:

Key

  Reform     Labour     Liberal     Country Party     Independent Liberal     Independent  

Electorate results for the 1925 New Zealand general election[5][6][7]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		William Nosworthy			2,117		John Nicholson Harle
Auckland Central		Bill Parry			3,500		Charles Augustus Wilson
Auckland East		John A. Lee			288		James Stewart
Auckland West		Michael Joseph Savage			476		Samuel Oldfield
Avon		Dan Sullivan			1,789		Walter Edmund Leadley
Awarua		Philip De La Perrelle		John Hamilton	220[8]		Philip De La Perrelle
Bay of Islands		Allen Bell		Allen Bell	2,787		Hugh James Sweeney
Bay of Plenty		Kenneth Williams			Uncontested
Buller		Harry Holland			1,532		C S Bielby
Chalmers		James Dickson			1,593		Michael Connelly
Christchurch East		Tim Armstrong			2,855		Denis Franklyn Dennehy
Christchurch North		Leonard Isitt		Henry Holland	2,910		Henry Thacker
Christchurch South		Ted Howard			1,569		Harry Ell
Clutha		John Edie		Fred Waite	1,653		John Edie
Dunedin Central		Charles Statham			2,299		John Gilchrist
Dunedin North		Jim Munro		Harold Tapley	262		Jim Munro
Dunedin South		Thomas Sidey			2,221		John McManus
Dunedin West		William Downie Stewart			2,478		R Harrison
Eden		James Parr			2,336		Rex Mason
Egmont		Oswald Hawken			1,290		W C G Green
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes		David Jones	634		Jeremiah Connolly
Franklin		Ewen McLennan			5,024		D McClymont
Gisborne		Douglas Lysnar			1,672		David Coleman
Grey Lynn		Fred Bartram			765		Ellen Melville
Hamilton		Alexander Young			4,725		Lee Martin
Hawke's Bay		Gilbert McKay		Hugh Campbell	726		Gilbert McKay
Hurunui		George Forbes			811		J G Armstrong
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			1,794		Walter Nash
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan		Joseph Ward	159		James Hargest
Kaiapoi		David Buddo			556		William Brock[9]
Kaipara		Gordon Coates			4,835		Bill Barnard
Lyttelton		James McCombs[nb 1]			6		Melville Lyons
Manawatu		Joseph Linklater			2,074		Ben Roberts
Manukau		Bill Jordan			1,054		Jack Massey
Marsden		Alfred Murdoch		William Jones	651		Alfred Murdoch
Masterton		George Sykes			922		J W Andrews
Mataura		George Anderson			2,664		W Hinchey
Motueka		Richard Hudson			2,102		Mark Fagan
Napier		Lew McIlvride		John Mason	573		Lew McIlvride
Nelson		Harry Atmore			2,349		Albert Gilbert
Oamaru		John MacPherson		Ernest Lee	1,097		John MacPherson
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland		Albert Samuel	108		Hugh Poland
Oroua		David Guthrie		John Gordon Eliott	470		John Cobbe
Otaki		William Hughes Field			2,057		Bob Semple
Pahiatua		Alfred Ransom			113		Archibald McNicol
Palmerston		Jimmy Nash			3,240		Walter Bromley
Parnell		James Samuel Dickson			4,887		Robert Frederick Way
Patea		James Randall Corrigan		Harold Dickie	1,275		James Randall Corrigan
Raglan		Richard Bollard			2,856		Ernest Piggott[10]
Rangitikei		Billy Glenn			1,963		Charles Joseph Duggan
Riccarton		George Witty		Bert Kyle	2,260		Winter Cole
Roskill		Vivian Potter			2,913		Alfred Hall-Skelton
Rotorua		Frank Hockly			2,776		Cecil Clinkard
Stratford		Robert Masters		Edward Walter	269		Robert Masters
Taranaki		Sydney George Smith		Charles Bellringer	50		Sydney George Smith
Tauranga		Charles MacMillan			2,310		Robert Coulter
Temuka		Thomas Burnett			535		Charles John Talbot
Thames		Thomas William Rhodes			3,307		W E G Willy
Timaru		Frank Rolleston			2,486		Percy Vinnell
Waikato		Frederick Lye		Stewart Reid	918		Frederick Lye
Waimarino		Frank Langstone		Robert William Smith	140		Frank Langstone
Waipawa		George Hunter			1,781		William Ashton Chambers
Wairarapa		Alexander Donald McLeod			1,424		F T Arkle
Wairau		William Girling			1,949		Richard McCallum
Waitaki		John Bitchener			502		G Barclay
Waitemata		Alexander Harris			3,577		Arthur Osborne
Waitomo		John Rolleston			1,435		Walter Broadfoot
Wakatipu		James Horn			843		James Ritchie[11]
Wallace		John Charles Thomson		Adam Hamilton	1,328		James Morris MacKenzie
Wanganui		Bill Veitch			891		John Coull [12]
Wellington Central		Peter Fraser			2,390		Andrew Sloane
Wellington East		Alec Monteith		Thomas Forsyth	1,195		Alec Monteith
Wellington North		John Luke			1,946		Harry Combs
Wellington South		Robert McKeen			1,474		Archibald Burnett Sievwright
Wellington Suburbs		Robert Wright			1,542		Charles Chapman
Westland		James O'Brien		Tom Seddon	12		James O'Brien
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata			3,604		Hone Mokena
Northern Maori		Taurekareka Henare			1,609		Hone Wi Kaitaia
Southern Maori		Henare Uru			16		Tuiti MacDonald
Western Maori		Māui Pōmare			2,723		Rangi Mawhete

Table footnotes:

1. Melville Lyons was elected for the Reform Party, originally the votes were equal (4900), then a recount found for Lyons. But on appeal his election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, James McCombs, was restored as the electorate representative.

By-elections during 22nd Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 22nd Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Eden	1926	15 April[13]		James Parr	Appointed High Commissioner, UK		Rex Mason
Raglan	1927	29 September[14]		Richard Bollard	Death		Lee Martin

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 138.
2. Wilson 1985, p. 173.
3. Bassett 1982, p. 36-37.
4. Wilson 1985, p. 141.
5. The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1926. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
6. Skinner 1926, pp. 1–6.
7. "Candidates in the Contest". The Evening Post. CX (109). 4 November 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
8. "Awarua". The Evening Post. 116 (116). 12 November 1925. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
9. "Election Notices". The Press. LXI (18524). 28 October 1925. p. 17. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
10. "Labour in Raglan". The New Zealand Herald. LXII (19149). 15 October 1925. p. 14. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
11. "General Election". The Evening Post. CX (30). 4 August 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
12. "Local and General News". The New Zealand Herald. LXII (19163). 31 October 1925. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
13. Scholefield 1950, p. 125.
14. "Labour Wins". Auckland Star. LVIII (231). 30 September 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2016.

References

• Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911-1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Skinner, W. A. G. (1926). The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.