Pahiatua (New Zealand electorate)

Pahiatua is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Wairarapa region. It existed from 1896 to 1996, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years.

Population centres

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, and three electorates were established for the first time, including Pahiatua.^[1] The original area of the Pahiatua electorate included the towns of Pahiatua and Woodville.^[2] Over time, the electorate shifted slightly north, until the town of Dannevirke was covered following the 1918 electoral redistribution.^[3]

The 1946 electoral redistribution took the abolition of the country quota into account, and as a rural electorate, the area covered by the Pahiatua electorate increased significantly.^[4] The Masterton electorate to the south was abolished, and its area distributed to the Wairarapa and Pahiatua electorate. Eketahuna and Castlepoint were gained by the electorate in that process.^[5]

History

The Pahiatua electorate existed from 1896 to 1996. Early holders of the seat were John O'Meara from 1896 to 1904, William Henry Hawkins from 1904 to 1905, Robert Beatson Ross from 1905 to 1911, James Escott from 1911 to 1916, Harold Smith from 1916 to 1919, Archibald McNicol from 1919 to 1922, and Alfred Ransom from 1922 to 1943.^[6]

The seat was held by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years, until he resigned to become Governor-General.^[7] In 1996 John Falloon, who had been the MP for Pahiatua for 19 years, chose to retire.

Members of Parliament

Key

  Liberal     Liberal-Labour     Reform     United     National  

Election	Winner
1896 election		John O'Meara
1899 election
1902 election
1904 by-election		William Henry Hawkins
1905 election		Robert Beatson Ross
1908 election
1911 election		James Escott
1914 election
1916 by-election		Harold Smith
1919 election		Archibald McNicol
1922 election		Alfred Ransom
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election		Keith Holyoake
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
1977 by-election		John Falloon
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished 1996)

Election results

1977 by-election

Pahiatua by-election, 1977^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National	John Falloon	9,059	63.01
	Labour	A. E. Levett	4,280	29.77
	Social Credit	G. W. E. Hislop	844	5.87
	Values	P. W. McHugh	194	1.35
Majority			4,779	33.24
Turnout			14,377	68.49
Registered electors			20,993
	National hold		Swing

1916 by-election

Pahiatua by-election, 1916^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Reform	Harold Smith	1,521	47.57
	Liberal	Robert Ross	1,438	44.97
	Labour	G D McFarlane	238	7.44
Majority			83	2.59
Turnout			3,197	51.23
Registered electors			6,241[11]
	Reform hold		Swing

1904 by-election

Pahiatua by-election, 1904^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent Liberal	William Hawkins	1,418	42.08
	Liberal	Lindsay Buick	1,323	39.26
	Independent	Samuel Bolton	476	14.12
	Liberal	David Crewe	138	4.09
	Independent	Donald Munro	14	0.41
Majority			95	2.81
Turnout			3,369

1899 election

General election, 1899: Pahiatua^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John O'Meara (politician)	2,058	54.92	+23.31
	Conservative	Harold Smith	1,689	45.08
Majority			369	9.85	+8.90
Turnout			3,747	83.25
Registered electors			4,501

1896 election

General election, 1896: Pahiatua^[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John O'Meara	1,004	31.61
	Conservative	Robert Manisty	974	30.67
	Liberal	William Wilson McCardle	848	26.70
	Independent Liberal	James Taylor	233	7.34
	Conservative	George Whitcombe	117	3.68
Majority			30	0.94
Informal votes
Registered electors			4,125
Turnout

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, p. 63.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 62.
3. McRobie 1989, pp. 62–79.
4. McRobie 1989, p. 95.
5. McRobie 1989, pp. 90–94.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 269.
7. Wilson 1985, p. 206.
8. Norton 1988, p. 305.
9. "Pahiatua by-election". Bay of Plenty Times. 18 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
10. "Pahiatua by-election". Sun. 7 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
11. McRobie 1989, p. 75.
12. "Complete Returns". The Marlborough Express. XXXVII (174). 29 July 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
13. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
14. "The General Election". Auckland Star. XXVII (305). 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
15. "List of Candidates". The Star (5733). 28 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
16. "Pahiatua Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times. XVI (5498). 30 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

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.