Hamilton (New Zealand electorate)

Hamilton is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed from 1922 to 1969. The electorate covered the urban area of the city of Hamilton. In 1969, the city was part of two rural electorates, Hamilton East and Waikato. For the 1972 election, the nature of Hamilton East changed to urban, and the Hamilton West electorate complements it to form a second urban electorate.

Five members of parliament have served the Hamilton electorate over its 47 years of existence. Two of them died in office, and both deaths caused by-elections.

Population centres

In the 1922 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained one electorate from the South Island due to faster population growth. The Bruce electorate was abolished, and the Hamilton electorate was created for the first time.[1] For the purposes of the country quota, the initial electorate was classed as two thirds urban and one third rural, and covered the city of Hamilton.[2]

Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, an increase of one since the 1962 electoral redistribution.[3] It was accepted that through the more rapid population growth in the North Island, the number of its electorates would continue to increase, and to keep proportionality, three new electorates were allowed for in the 1967 electoral redistribution for the next election.[4] In the North Island, five electorates were newly created and one electorate was reconstituted while three electorates were abolished (including Hamilton).[5] In the South Island, three electorates were newly created and one electorate was reconstituted while three electorates were abolished.[6] The overall effect of the required changes was highly disruptive to existing electorates, with all but three electorates having their boundaries altered.[7] These changes came into effect with the 1969 election.[4]

History

The Hamilton electorate was first used in the 1922 election.[8] The electorate's first representative was Alexander Young of the Reform Party, who had since the 1911 election represented the Waikato electorate, but chose to stand in the new electorate in 1922 instead.[9] Young remained the representative until the 1935 election, when he was defeated by Labour's Charles Barrell.[10] Barrell in turn was defeated in the 1943 election by National's Frank Findlay, who died in office on 31 March 1945.[11]

Findlay's death caused the 1943 by-election, which was won by National's Hilda Ross.[12] Ross died in office on 6 March 1959, and this caused the 1959 by-election, which was won by National's Lance Adams-Schneider.[13] Adams-Schneider served until the end of the term in 1969, when the electorate was abolished.[14] He transferred to the Waikato electorate, which covered the area east of the Waikato River and that was recreated for the 1969 election.[14][15]

The 1967 electoral redistribution created a new electorate called Hamilton West electorate. Its eastern boundary was the Waikato River, but it incorporated much of the former Waipa electorate, extended to the Tasman Sea, and was thus more rural in nature.[16]

The 1972 electoral redistribution created the Hamilton East electorate and at the same time, the Hamilton West electorate lost its rural hinterland to Raglan. Hence, two urban electorates covered Hamilton for the 1972 election.[17]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Reform     Labour     National     Independent  

Election Winner
1922 election Alexander Young
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election Charles Barrell
1938 election
1943 election Frank Findlay
1945 by-election Hilda Ross
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1959 by-election Lance Adams-Schneider
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
(Electorate abolished 1969)

Election results

1959 by-election

Hamilton by-election, 1959[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Lance Adams-Schneider 7,832 57.89
Labour E A Waters 4,844 35.81
Social Credit F C Roberts 852 6.30
Majority 2,988 22.09
Informal votes 27 0.20
Turnout 13,555 78.40
Registered electors 17,289
National hold Swing

1943 election

General election, 1943: Hamilton[19][ob 1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Frank Finlay 7,660 48.04
Labour Charles Barrell 7,206 45.20
Democratic Labour Alfred E. Allen 885 5.55
Real Democracy Movement William Henry Thompson 193 1.21
Majority 454 2.85
Informal votes 167 1.04
Turnout 16,111 92.21
Registered electors 17,473

Table footnotes:

  1. ↑ Registered electors refers to civilian voters only; nationwide, 93,295 servicemen also cast valid votes although their names did not appear on electoral rolls.[20]

1938 election

General election, 1938: Hamilton[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Barrell 7,722 56.85
National Albert William Grant[23] 5,862 43.15
Majority 1,860 13.69
Informal votes 88 0.64
Turnout 13,672 93.31
Registered electors 14,653

1935 election

General election, 1935: Hamilton[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Barrell 5,534 45.53
Reform Alexander Young 4,141 34.07
Democrat Harold David Caro[25] 2,479 20.39
Majority 1,391 11.44
Turnout 12,152

1931 election

General election, 1931: Hamilton[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alexander Young 5,874 65.17 +20.36
Labour Hubert Beebe 2,579 28.61
Independent Charles Lafferty 561 6.22
Majority 3,295 36.55 +25.94
Informal votes 94 1.03 -0.22
Turnout 9,108 74.58 -9.13
Registered electors 12,213

1928 election

General election, 1928: Hamilton[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alexander Young 4,529 44.81
Liberal-Labour Samuel Charles Lye 3,456 34.19
Labour Frederick Schramm 2,123 21.00
Majority 1,073 10.62
Informal votes 128 1.25
Turnout 10,236 83.71
Registered electors 12,228

Notes

  1. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
  2. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 82–106.
  3. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 108, 111, 112.
  4. 1 2 McRobie 1989, p. 111.
  5. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 107, 111.
  6. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 108, 112.
  7. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 111f.
  8. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 264.
  9. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 247.
  10. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 182, 247.
  11. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 182, 196.
  12. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 231.
  13. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 179, 231.
  14. 1 2 Wilson 1985, pp. 179, 264.
  15. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 110.
  16. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 106–111.
  17. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 114f.
  18. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 233.
  19. ↑ The General Election, 1943. National Library. 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  20. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 92.
  21. ↑ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald LXXV (23181). 29 October 1938. p. 25. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  23. ↑ Gustafson 1986, p. 366.
  24. ↑ The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1936. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "Democrat Candidate". The New Zealand Herald. LXXII (22217). 18 September 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  26. ↑ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  27. ↑ "Election Results". Auckland Star LXII (290). 8 December 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  28. ↑ The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 25 April 2015.

References

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