Wellington North (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington North was, from 1905 to 1946, a parliamentary electorate within the area encompassing New Zealand's capital, Wellington. The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament.

Population centres

Through the City Single Electorates Act, 1903, the three-member electorates of the four main centres were split again, and this became effective at the end of the 15th Parliament and was thus used for the 1905 election. The City of Wellington electorate was split into the Wellington East, Wellington Central, and Wellington North electorates.^[1] The electorate covered areas north of the central city. For the purpose of the country quota, the electorate has always been regarded as fully urban.^[2] In the 1937 electoral redistribution, Somes Island was transferred from the Hutt to the Wellington North electorate.^[3]

History

Charles Hayward Izard of the Liberal Party was the electorate's first representative from 1905 to 1908,^[4] when he was defeated by Alexander Herdman.^[5] Herdman had previously represented the Mount Ida electorate. He joined the Reform Party but resigned from Parliament in February 1918.^[6]

Herdman was succeeded by John Luke of the Reform Party in the resulting 1918 by-election.^[7] In the 1928 election, Luke was defeated by Charles Henry Chapman of the Labour Party. Chapman represented the electorate from 1928 to 1946, and moved to the Wellington Central electorate when Wellington North was abolished.^[8]

Members of Parliament

The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament:^[9]

Key

  Liberal     Independent     Reform     Labour  

Election	Winner
1905 election		Charles Hayward Izard
1908 election		Alexander Herdman
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election		John Luke
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election		Charles Henry Chapman
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election

Election results

1938 election

General election, 1938: Wellington North[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Henry Chapman	9,522	60.09
	Independent Liberal	Elizabeth Gilmer	6,244	39.40
	Independent	Thomas Folckman Simpson	80	0.50
Majority			3,278	20.69
Informal votes			110	0.69
Turnout			15,956	85.29
Registered electors			18,709

1931 election

General election, 1931: Wellington North[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Henry Chapman	4,531	44.23
	Reform	George Troup	3,470	33.87
	Independent	John Luke	2,243	21.90
Majority			1,061	10.36
Informal votes			68	0.66
Turnout			10,312	71.33
Registered electors			14,457

1918 by-election

Wellington North by-election, 1918[12][13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	John Luke	2,986	41.89
	Labour	Harry Holland	2,566	35.99
	Liberal	Alfred Brandon	816	11.44
	Independent Liberal	Angus (James Neville) Polson	720	10.10
Majority			420	5.89
Informal votes			40	0.56
Turnout			7,128
	Reform hold		Swing

1914 election

General election, 1914[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Alexander Herdman	4,550	55.23
	Liberal	William Turnbull	1,895	23.00
	Social Democrat	Harry Holland	1,688	20.49
Majority			2,655	32.23
Informal votes			104	1.26
Turnout			8,237	82.90
Registered electors			9,936

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 66ff.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 71.
3. McRobie 1989, pp. 90f.
4. Wilson 1985, p. 207.
5. Wilson 1985, p. 204, 207.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 204.
7. Wilson 1985, p. 213.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 189.
9. Wilson 1985, p. 276.
10. "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
11. "Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington North". The Evening Post CXII (140). 10 December 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
12. "Wellington North". Colonist LX (14665). 20 March 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Wellington North electorate". Free Lance XVII (919). 22 February 1918. p. 9. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. pp. 1–33. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

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.