Electoral history of George Grey

This is a summary of the electoral history of Sir George Grey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, (1877–1879). He represented six electorates during his political career.

George Grey, around the time of his Premiership.

Parliamentary elections

Grey's first electoral contest in 1870 was fought in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Newark. Subsequent electoral contests were all in New Zealand.

1870 by-election

1870 Newark by-election[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Bristowe	827	54.0	+17.8
	Conservative	William Campbell Sleigh	653	42.6
	Independent Liberal	Sir George Grey[3]	52	3.4
Majority			174	11.4	+4.9
Turnout			1,532	85.0	+3.7
Registered electors			1,803

1875 by-election

1875 Auckland West by-election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	Unopposed
Registered electors

1876 election

1876 general election, Auckland West[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey^a	Unopposed
	Independent	Patrick Dignan	Unopposed
Registered electors

^a Grey resigned from the Auckland West seat after he was elected in the Thames electorate.[6] A petition against his election for Thames had been filed on the following day, on the grounds that he had already been elected in Auckland West (see 1875–1876 New Zealand general election). This was unresolved for several months, and Grey telegrammed in June that he chose to represent Auckland West. However when the committee reported on 8 July that his election for Thames was valid but that he had to choose which electorate to represent, he telegrammed that he chose to represent Thames. A by-election (1876 Auckland West by-election) was held to replace Grey in Auckland West.

1876 general election, Thames[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	984	67.53
	Independent	William Rowe	862	59.16
	Independent	Sir Julius Vogel	685	47.01
	Independent	C F Mitchell	330	22.64
	Independent	C O'Neil	26	1.78
	Independent	C Cornes	20	1.37
	Independent	S Stephenson	7	0.48
Majority			177	12.14
Turnout			1,457

1879 election

1879 general election, Thames[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	Unopposed
	Independent	John Sheehan	Unopposed
Registered electors

1879 general election, Christchurch[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey^b	1,315	70.58
	Independent	Samuel Paull Andrews	1,250	67.09
	Independent	Edward Cephas John Stevens	1,250	67.09
	Independent	Edward Richardson	1,227	65.86
	Independent	Treadwell	548	29.41
Majority			22	1.1
Turnout			1,863

^b Grey was unseated on petition in Christchurch, as he had already been elected in the Thames electorate.[6] The committee decision (decided on the chairman's casting vote after a split three-three committee vote; see 1879 New Zealand general election) was the opposite to the decision on the 1876 petition.

1881 election

1881 general election, Auckland East[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	349	52.57
	Independent	J M Clark	315	47.43
Majority			34	5.12
Turnout			664	71.78
Registered electors			925

1884 election

1884 general election, Auckland East[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,331

1887 election

1887 general election, Auckland Central[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,782

1891 by-election

1891 Newton by-election[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,088

1893 election

1893 general election: City of Auckland[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sir George Grey	6,379	62.57
	Conservative	William Crowther	4,584	44.96
	Conservative	Charles Button	4,214	41.34
	Conservative	Thomas Tudehope[16]	4,146	40.67
	Liberal	Thomas Thompson	3,950	38.75	-20.23
	Liberal	William Joseph Napier	3,531	34.64	-7.18
	Independent Liberal	Edward Withy[16]	2,393	23.47
	Liberal	John Shera	793	7.78	-55.85
	Liberal	Samuel Vaile[16]	502	4.92
	Liberal	Thomas Fernandez	92	0.90
Majority			68	0.67
Turnout			10,195	60.73	+14.30
Registered electors			16,788

Notes

1. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
2. "Newark". Belfast Telegraph. 31 January 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "The Newark Election". Morning Advertiser. 28 March 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 10 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "By Electric Telegraph". IX (1267). Westport Times. 30 March 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
5. "Auckland". XXIII (1159). North Otago Times. 23 December 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 201.
7. "Declaration of the Poll at Thames". The New Zealand Herald. XIII (4419). 12 January 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
8. "Thames Election". VIII (777). Bay of Plenty Times. 4 September 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
9. "Christchurch Election" (3563). Star. 11 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
10. Cooper, G. S. (1882). Votes Recorded for Each Candidate. Government Printer. Retrieved 24 October 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
11. Cooper, G. S. (1884). The General Election, 1884. National Library. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
12. "The General Election, 1887". National Library. 1887. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
13. "NEW ZEALAND". XXVII (79). Marlborough Express. 6 April 1891. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
14. The General Election, 1893. Government Printer. 1894. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
15. "The General Election". Otago Daily Times. 28 November 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
16. "Electorate City of Auckland". Auckland Star. XXIV (274). 18 November 1893. p. 8. Retrieved 28 November 2013.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.