1901 Wellington City mayoral election

The 1901 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1901, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including twelve city councillors. John Aitken, the incumbent Mayor, was re-elected to office as Mayor of Wellington, beating Thomas Wilford. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

1901 Wellington City mayoral election
25 April 1901
Turnout8,533 (62.46%)
 
Candidate John Aitken Thomas Wilford
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote 5,801 2,732
Percentage 67.98 32.02
Mayor before election

John Aitken

 Elected Mayor

John Aitken

Background

Electoral reforms were implemented in 1901, which extended the municipal term for councillors to biennial terms and saw the abolition of the ward system, implementing the process of electing councillors at large instead.[1] Under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1900 mayors were still to be elected annually and fixed elections to the last Wednesday in April (rather than in November). The Act delayed the introduction of the new system until April 1901 meaning there was no mayoral election in 1900.[2]

Mayoralty results
1901 Wellington mayoral election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John Aitken 5,801 67.98 +16.65
Independent Thomas Wilford 2,732 32.02
Majority 3,069 35.96 +14.96
Turnout 8,533 62.46 +23.06

Councillor results
1901 Wellington City Council election[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent David Nathan 5,847 86.51
Independent John Luke 5,316 78.66
Independent William Henry Peter Barber 5,170 76.50
Independent William Evans 5,074 75.08
Independent George Winder 5,056 74.81
Independent Matthew Murdoch 4,424 65.46
Independent John Smith Jr. 4,315 63.85
Independent James Devine 4,127 61.06
Independent Charles Hayward Izard 3,908 57.82
Independent James Godber 3,744 55.40
Independent Robert Tolhurst 3,640 53.86
Labour David McLaren 3,210 47.49
Independent Robert McKenzie 3,035 44.90
Independent Frederic Townsend 2,955 43.72
Independent George Anderson 2,755 40.76
Independent Allan Orr 2,699 39.93
Independent Paul Coffey 2,491 36.86
Independent Robert Davenport 2,236 33.08
Independent Frederick Bolton 2,189 32.39
Independent Henry Fielder 2,084 30.83
Independent Edmond Carrigan 2,033 30.08
Labour Alfred Hindmarsh 2,028 30.00
Independent Alexander Rand 1,464 21.66
Independent Alexander Wilson 1,299 19.22

Notes
  1. Betts 1970, pp. 39.
  2. "Municipal Corporations Act 1900". New Zealand Parliament. 1900. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. "Wellington City Council". The Free Lance. Vol. I, no. 43. 27 April 1901. p. 11. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  4. "City Council Election". The Evening Post. Vol. LXI, no. 94. 23 April 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2016.

References
  • Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0 589 00469 7.


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