Taranaki (New Zealand electorate)

Taranaki was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed for three periods between 1881 and 1996. It was represented by nine Members of Parliament.

Population centres

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–76 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Taranaki, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.[1]

The original area included the townships of Ohura, Waitara, and Inglewood. The Mokau River was used as the northern boundary.[2] In the 1887 electoral redistribution, the northern boundary moved north, most of it as yet unsurveyed land.[3][4] The settlements of Mokau and Awakino were included in the newly gained area to the north, and Stratford was gained in the south.[5]

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, including Taranaki, and three electorates were established for the first time.[6] The New Plymouth electorate was abolished, the Egmont electorate shifted north, and the Patea electorate shifted east. This made room for the Hawera and Taranaki electorates.[7]

History

The electorate existed from 1881 to 1890, from 1896 to 1928, and from 1978 (replacing Stratford) to 1996.[8] In 1996 it was combined with the adjacent King Country to form the Taranaki-King Country electorate.

The first representative was Robert Trimble from 1881 to 1887,[8] who had earlier represented Grey and Bell.[9] The second representative was George Marchant.

Members of Parliament

Taranaki was represented by nine Members of Parliament.

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Reform  

  Independent Labour     Liberal–Labour     National  

Election	Winner
1881 election		Robert Trimble
1884 election
1887 election		George Marchant
(Electorate abolished 1890–1896)
1896 election		Henry Brown
1899 election		Edward Smith
1902 election
1905 election
1907 by-election		Henry Okey
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election		Sydney Smith
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election		Charles Bellringer
(Electorate abolished 1928–1978)
1978 election		David Thomson
1981 election
1984 election		Roger Maxwell
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Taranaki-King Country)

Election results

1925 election

1925 general election: Taranaki[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Charles Bellringer	4,615	46.28
	Liberal	Sydney George Smith	4,565	45.78
	Labour	William Sheat	792	7.94
Majority			50	0.50
Informal votes			56	0.56
Turnout			10,028	92.79
Registered electors			10,807

1918 by-election

1918 Taranaki by-election[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	Sydney George Smith	2,840	51.44
	Reform	John Connett	2,680	48.55
Majority			160	2.89
Turnout			5,520	74.19	-12.62

1907 by-election

1907 Taranaki by-election[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Okey	1,991	43.02
	Liberal	Edward Dockrill[13]	1,627	35.16
	Independent Liberal	William Malone	1,010	21.82
Majority			364	7.87
Informal votes			23	0.50
Turnout			4,651	74.96
Registered electors			6,205

1899 election

1899 general election: Taranaki[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Smith	2,405	51.36	+7.03
	Conservative	Henry Brown	2,278	48.64	+1.91
Majority			127	2.71	+0.30
Turnout			4,683	82.46	+5.88
Registered electors			5,679

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 43–48.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 46.
3. McRobie 1989, pp. 50f.
4. "Readjustment of Electoral Districts". Taranaki Herald. XXXVI (7909). 4 July 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
5. McRobie 1989, p. 50.
6. McRobie 1989, p. 63.
7. McRobie 1989, pp. 58, 62.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 272.
9. "The Elections". Taranaki Herald. XXVII (3222). 9 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
10. The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
11. "Taranaki By-Election". The New Zealand Herald. LV (16978). 11 October 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
12. "Taranaki Election". The New Zealand Herald. XLIV (13488). 15 May 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
13. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1908). "Mr. Edward Dockrill". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
14. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 12 February 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.