Waitemata by-election, 1894

9 April 1894 (1894-04-09)



Candidate	William Massey	Jackson Palmer
Party	Independent	Independent Liberal
Popular vote	1,619	1,446

MP before election

Richard Monk
Independent

Elected MP

The Waitemata by-election, 1894 was a by-election held on 9 April 1894 during the 12th New Zealand Parliament in the rural North Island seat of the Waitemata.

The contest was won by the independent conservative candidate William Massey. Massey somewhat narrowly beat the Liberal candidate Jackson Palmer recording only a 173 vote majority.^[1]

Background

The seat was declared vacant when sitting MP Richard Monk had his election declared void.^[2] Opposition supporters in the Waitemata area sent a telegram to Massey asking him to stand in the by-election on their behalf. Massey was allegedly atop a haystack when the telegram arrived and it was passed up to him on a pitchfork. He decided to accept.^[3] Massey's nomination for the election also came under scrutiny, with a written objection being lodged against him on the alleged ground that one of the men who nominated him was not qualified to do so.^[4]

Massey's only opponent was Paeroa lawyer Jackson Palmer, an Independent Liberal, who had won the Waitemata seat previously, in the 1890 election.^[5] Fellow conservative Eden George also intended to stand, but ultimately withdrew from the contest.^[4]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Waitemata by-election, 1894^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	William Massey	1,619	52.82
	Independent Liberal	Jackson Palmer	1,446	47.17
Majority			173	5.64
Turnout			3,065

Monk won the electorate again in 1896, and retired in 1902.^[2] Massey stood successfully for Franklin in 1896 and was to stay in Parliament for the remaining 31 years of his life, serving as Prime Minister (1912–25).^[3] Palmer would later win the seat of Ohinemuri in the election of 1899.^[5]

Notes

1 2 "Waitemata Election". Thames Adviser XXVI (7794). 13 April 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
1 2 Wilson 1985, p. 220.
1 2 Gustafson, Barry. "Massey, William Ferguson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
1 2 "Waitemata Seat". Poverty Bay Herald XXI (6942). 4 April 1894. p. 3. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
1 2 Wilson 1985, p. 225.

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.

« (1853–1890) « By-elections in New Zealand in the Liberal Party era (1891–1911) » (1912–1938) »

11th Parliament	Northern Maori, 1891 Egmont, 1891 Newton, 1891 Te Aroha, 1891 Waikato, 1891 City of Christchurch, 1891 City of Wellington, 1892 Bruce, 1892 Rangitikei, 1892 Inangahua, 1893 Wanganui, 1893 Thames, 1893 City of Auckland, 1893

12th Parliament	Waitemata, 1894 Tuapeka, 1894 City of Auckland, 1895 City of Christchurch, 1896

13th Parliament	Suburbs of Wellington, 1897 Awarua, 1897 City of Dunedin, 1897 City of Wellington, 1898 Mataura, 1898 Tuapeka, 1898 City of Wellington, 1899

14th Parliament	Otaki, 1900 City of Auckland, 1900 Waihemo, 1900 Northern Maori, 1901 City of Christchurch, 1901 Patea, Jul 1901 Patea, Nov 1901 Caversham, 1901

15th Parliament	Pahiatua, 1904 City of Wellington, 1905

16th Parliament	Westland, 1906 Manukau, 1906 Taranaki, 1907 Tuapeka, 1908

17th Parliament	Thames, 1909 Northern Maori, 1909 Rangitikei, 1909 Auckland East, 1910 Christchurch North, 1911

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