1884 New Zealand general election
The 1884 New Zealand general election was held on 22 July to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 21 July.[1] A total number of 137,686 (60.6%) voters turned out to vote.[2] In 11 seats there was only one candidate.[3]
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All 95 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 60.6% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1881 electoral redistribution
The same 95 electorates that were defined through the 1881 electoral redistribution were used for the 1884 election. The next electoral redistribution was held in 1887 in preparation for the 1887 election.[4]
Government formation
Prior to the election Harry Atkinson had served as Premier since 1883. His government was unpopular at the time and the polls went against him. Only 32 of the returned Members supported him whilst 57 opposed his government as well as 6 independents.[5] Soon after the election his government fell in August 1884 after Robert Stout successfully passed a vote of no confidence and assumed the premiership with the support of Julius Vogel. A strong counter-offensive by Atkinson enabled him to unseat Stout again after only twelve days. Stout, however, was not so easily defeated, and took the Premiership again after seven days. This time, Stout held his position for three years, defeating Atkinson's attempts to oust him.
Results
The following table shows the results of the 1884 general election.[6]
Notes
- Wilson 1985, p. 137.
- "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- Wilson 1985, p. 286.
- McRobie 1989, pp. 47, 51.
- "Election News". No. 5062. Star. 24 July 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- Cooper, G. S. (1884). The General Election, 1884. National Library. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- "City North". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVI, no. 4422. 16 July 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- "Ponsonby". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVI, no. 4430. 26 July 1884. p. 7. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- "The Hawke's Bay Election". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXI, no. 6912. 16 July 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- "Hawke's Bay Election". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXI, no. 6915. 19 July 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- "The Nomination". Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser. Vol. XIV, no. 1166. 20 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- Cyclopedia Company Limited (1905). "The Hon. S. E. Shrimski". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Otago & Southland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- Cyclopedia Company Limited (1905). "Mr. Charles Haynes, J. P". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Otago & Southland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- "Peninsula". Otago Witness. No. 1704. 19 July 1884. p. 9. Retrieved 28 June 2012.