Southern Maori

Southern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Eastern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and Southern Maori was replaced with the Te Tai Tonga and Te Puku O Te Whenua electorates.

Population centres

From its initial definition of the Maori electorates in 1867 to the 1954 Maori electoral boundary redefinition, the Southern Maori electorate covered the entire South Island plus it included Stewart Island.[1] It did not include the Chatham Islands, which did not belong to any Maori electorate until after a change to the Legislative Act and from the 1922 election, the Chatham Islands belonged to the Western Maori electorate.[2] The 1954 redefinition responded to the fact that the Southern Maori electorate had a much lower voter base than the three other Maori electorates, and this was responded to by adding the south-eastern part of the North Island to the Southern Maori electorate. Population centres that came to the electorate through this measure included Wellington, Masterton, Palmerston North, Napier, and Wairoa. These changes became effective with the 1954 election.[3]

The next redistribution of Maori electoral boundaries was carried out in 1983, just after the responsibility for doing so had been transferred to the Representation Commission. The North Island boundaries of the Southern Maori electorate were adjusted, and Palmerston North transferred to the Western Maori electorate in that process. These boundaries were used in the 1984 election.[4] Further boundary adjustments were undertaken in 1987, which became operative with the 1987 election.[5]

Tribal areas

Ngāi Tahu and Ngati Kahungunu were the dominant tribes within the area covered by the electorate.

History

The Southern Maori electorate included the whole of the South Island to 1954, but its population was less than that of the other Māori electorates. In 1954 the boundaries were extended to include much of the East Coast of the North Island up to Napier and Wairoa in Hawkes Bay.

The first member of parliament for the new Māori electorate of Southern Maori from 1868 was John Patterson; he retired in 1870.

In 1932, Eruera Tirikatene won the electorate in a by-election and became the first Rātana MP; and then a Labour MP following the Labour-Ratana pact. When he died in 1967 his daughter Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan took over the seat in a 1967 by-election.

In 1993 the National Party did not stand a candidate in the electorate as their proposed candidate did not apply in time.

In 1996 with mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation, the Te Tai Tonga electorate covering the South Island took over the major part of the Southern Maori electorate. Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan who had held the Southern Maori electorate for many years narrowly lost the new seat to Tu Wyllie of New Zealand First and retired from politics.

Members of Parliament

The Southern Maori electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:[6]

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Reform     United     Ratana     Labour  

Election	Winner
1868 Māori election		John Patterson
1871 election		Hori Kerei Taiaroa
1876 election
1879 by-election		Ihaia Tainui
1879 election
1881 by-election		Hori Kerei Taiaroa (2nd period)
1881 election
1884 election
1885 by-election		Tame Parata
1887 election
1890 election
1893 election
1896 election
1899 election
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election
1911 election		Taare Parata
1914 election
1918 by-election		Hopere Uru
1919 election
1922 by-election		Henare Uru
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election		Tuiti Makitanara
1931 election
1932 by-election		Eruera Tirikatene
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1967 by-election		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election

Election results

Note that the affiliation of many early candidates is not known.

1993 election

1993 general election: Southern Maori[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	9,631	57.94	-16.56
	NZ First	Jules Parkinson	3,291	19.80
	Alliance	Tikirau Stevens	2,541	15.28	+3.64
	Mana Māori	Reitu Noble Harris	702	4.22
	Christian Heritage	Rawiri Whare	336	2.02
	Natural Law	Timothy Irwin	119	0.71
Majority			6,340	38.14	-24.72
Turnout			16,620	63.96	-5.69
Registered electors			25,984

1990 election

1990 general election: Southern Maori[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	9,024	74.50	-2.38
	Mana Motuhake	Tikirau Stevens	1,410	11.64	+1.92
	National	Jack Mei	1,287	10.62	+2.81
	Independent	Dun Mihaka	391	3.22	+0.80
Majority			7,614	62.86	-4.29
Turnout			12,112	58.27	-10.69
Registered electors			20,785

1987 election

1987 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	10,130	76.88	-1.40
	Mana Motuhake	Tikirau Stevens	1,282	9.72
	National	Jack Mei	1,030	7.81	+1.30
	Democrats	Robert Aramakuru	344	2.61	+1.11
	Independent	Dun Mihaka	319	2.42	+1.25
	Independent	Clive Dooley	71	0.53
Majority			8,848	67.15	-2.52
Turnout			13,176	68.96	-9.08
Registered electors			19,104

1984 election

1984 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	11,792	78.28	+6.64
	Mana Motuhake	Amster Reedy	1,297	8.61	-3.05
	National	Jack Mei	982	6.51
	NZ Party	Willard Amaru	427	2.83
	Social Credit	Robert Aramakuru	226	1.50	-6.20
	Independent	Dun Mihaka	177	1.17	-0.70
	Independent	H Watene	161	1.06
Majority			10,495	69.67	+9.70
Turnout			15,062	78.04	+4.90
Registered electors			19,300

1981 election

1981 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	10,685	71.64	-10.68
	Mana Motuhake	Amster Reedy	1,740	11.66
	Social Credit	Robert Aramakuru	1,149	7.70
	National	Barry Kiwara	1,060	7.10
	Independent	Dun Mihaka	280	1.87
Majority			8,945	59.97	-13.76
Turnout			14,914	73.14	+32.94
Registered electors			20,390

1978 election

1978 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	10,250	82.32	+7.72
	National	C P Maitai	1,070	8.59
	Social Credit	W A M Gregory	1,013	8.13
	Values	M Burdan	117	0.93
Majority			9,180	73.73	+11.29
Turnout			12,450	40.20	-16.31
Registered electors			30,966

1975 election

1975 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	7,708	74.60	-13.06
	National	Willard Amaru	1,256	12.15
	Social Credit	L K Kaumau	598	5.78
	Independent Labour	W W Mohi	358	3.46
	Values	Y V A W Currie	246	2.38
	Independent	T T Te Puke Watson	166	1.60
Majority			6,452	62.44	-26.89
Turnout			10,332	56.51	-14.79
Registered electors			18,282

1972 election

1972 general election: Southern Maori[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	9,078	87.66	+4.71
	National	Kate Parahi	827	7.98
	Social Credit	Gale M. Ngakuru	450	4.34
Majority			9,251	89.33	+18.84
Turnout			10,355	71.30	+0.81
Registered electors			14,522

1969 election

1969 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan	7,802	82.95	+8.64
	National	Norra Woodbane Pomare	1,172	12.46
	Social Credit	Tamati W. Makitanare	290	3.08
	Independent	Kenneth Rangi	141	1.49
Majority			6,630	70.49	+16.69
Turnout			9,405	70.40	+19.93
Registered electors			13,359

1967 by-election

1967 Southern Maori by-election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Whetu Tirikatene	4,968	74.31
	National	Baden Pere	1,371	20.51	-1.17
	Social Credit	James Hugh MacDonald	347	5.18	-0.85
Majority			3,597	53.80
Turnout			6,686	50.47	-12.21
Registered electors			13,248

1966 election

1966 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	5,474	72.28	-5.09
	National	Baden Pere	1,642	21.68
	Social Credit	James Hugh MacDonald	457	6.03
Majority			3,832	50.60	-12.91
Turnout			7,573	62.68	-7.37
Registered electors			12,081

1963 election

1963 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	6,065	77.37	+1.80
	National	Ben Couch	1,087	13.86
	Young Maori	Rua Bristowe	387	4.93
	Social Credit	Matua Ereatara Niania	299	3.81
Majority			4,978	63.51	+5.39
Turnout			7,838	70.05	-1.21
Registered electors			11,189

1960 election

1960 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	5,132	75.57	-2.95
	National	Ngarangi Whakaupoko Tutaki	1,185	17.44
	Social Credit	Matua Ereatara Niania	474	6.97
Majority			3,947	58.12	-6.39
Turnout			6,791	71.26	-11.19
Registered electors			9,529

1957 election

1957 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	5,335	78.52	+14.43
	National	Thomas Stratton	952	14.01
	Social Credit	Hinerapa Ihipera Ropiha	394	5.79
	Kauhananui	Tamati Wi Makitanare	113	1.66
Majority			4,383	64.51	+23.28
Turnout			6,794	82.45	-10.33
Registered electors			8,240

1954 election

1954 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	4,452	64.09	-11.27
	National	Turi Carroll	1,588	22.86
	Independent Labour	F R Logan	477	6.86
	Social Credit	M Baker	261	3.75
	Maori Labour	A T Huata	168	2.41
Majority			2,864	41.23	-9.50
Turnout			6,946	92.78	+1.95
Registered electors			7,486

1951 election

1951 general election: Southern Maori[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	979	75.36	-0.89
	National	William Beaton	320	24.63
Majority			659	50.73	-3.27
Turnout			1,299	90.83	-3.04
Registered electors			1,430

1949 election

1949 general election: Southern Maori[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	970	76.25	+1.71
	National	Huro Nathanial Bates	283	22.24
Informal votes			19	1.49	+0.28
Majority			687	54.00	+3.70
Turnout			1,272	93.87
Registered electors			1,355

1946 election

1946 general election: Southern Maori[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eruera Tirikatene	861	74.54
	National	Vernon Ohaia Mason Thomas	280	24.24
Informal votes			14	1.21
Majority			581	50.30
Turnout			1,155

1932 by-election

1932 Southern Maori by-election[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratana	Eruera Tirikatene	425	44.69	+10.34
	United/Reform	William Teihoka Parata	184	19.35
	Independent	Peter McDonald	132	13.88
	Independent	Joseph Beaton (United–Reform Coalition)	113	11.88
	Independent	Tame Bragg (Reform)	94	9.88
	Independent	Wiremu Mihaka	3	0.32
Majority			241	25.34	+23.27
Turnout			951

1931 election

1931 general election: Southern Maori[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United	Tuiti Makitanara	334	36.42
	Ratana	Eruera Tirikatene	315	34.35
	Independent	Hari Wi Katene	268	29.23
Majority			19	2.07
Turnout			917

1922 by-election

1922 Southern Maori by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Henare Uru	364	44.83
	Independent	Teone Matapura Erihana	250	30.79	+16.69
	Independent	Wereta Tainui Pitama	108	13.30
	Independent	William Daniel Barrett	90	11.08
Turnout			812
Majority			114	14.04	-16.05

1918 by-election

1918 Southern Maori by-election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Hopere Uru	242	38.78
	Independent	Henare Parata	223	35.74
	Independent	Teone Matapura Erihana (Ellison)	159	25.48
Turnout			624
Majority			19	3.04

1899 election

1899 general election: Southern Maori[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tame Parata	387	63.86	+24.64
		Taituha Hape	219	36.14
Majority			168	27.72	+10.81
Turnout			606

1896 election

1896 general election: Southern Maori[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tame Parata	262	39.22	-27.63
		Thomas Ellison	149	22.31
		Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa	144	21.56
		Teoti Pita Mutu	113	16.92	-16.24
Majority			391	11.93	-16.78
Turnout			668

1893 election

1893 general election: Southern Maori[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tame Parata	367	66.85
		Teoti Pita Mutu	182	33.15
Majority			185	33.70
Turnout			549

1887 election

1887 general election: Southern Maori[20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tame Parata	140	33.49	-9.12
	Independent	Thomas Ellison	103	24.64
	Independent	Kahu	103	24.64
	Independent	Hone Taare Tikao	72	17.22	-10.03
Majority			37	8.85	-3.61
Turnout			418

1885 by-election

1885 Southern Maori by-election[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tame Parata	147	42.61
	Independent	Henare Paratini[23]	104	30.14
	Independent	Hone Taare Tikao[24]	94	27.25
Majority			43	12.46
Turnout			345

1879 by-election

1879 Southern Maori by-election[25][26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ihaia Tainui	191	49.23
	Independent	Tari Wi or Toihaka	78	20.10
	Independent	Hori Paratene	60	15.46
Majority			113	29.12
Turnout			388

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 132–139.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 135.
3. McRobie 1989, pp. 138f.
4. McRobie 1989, pp. 140f.
5. McRobie 1989, pp. 142f.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 272.
7. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993. p. 156.
8. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990. p. 161.
9. Norton 1988, pp. 401.
10. Norton 1988, pp. 400.
11. "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
12. "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
13. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
14. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
15. "Southern Maori Election". The Lake District Press. 28 February 1918.
16. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
17. "Untitled". The Evening Post. LIII (1). 2 January 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
18. "The Maori Elections". The Press. LIII (9591). 4 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
19. "The General Election, 1893". Government Printer. 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
20. "The Maori Members". The Press. XLIV (6861). 20 September 1887. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
21. "The Southern Native Member". The Press. XLIV (6856). 14 September 1887. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
22. "Election of Maori Representative". Otago Daily Times (7287). 25 June 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
23. "The Southern Maori Election". The New Zealand Herald. XXII (7363). 25 June 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
24. "Southern Maori Election". The Timaru Herald. XLI (3340). 11 June 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
25. "Southern Maori Election". The New Zealand Herald. 17 July 1879.
26. "Southern Maori Election". Star. 16 July 1879.
27. "Southern Maori Election". Evening Post. 17 July 1879.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.