Geraldine (New Zealand electorate)

Geraldine was a former parliamentary electorate in the South Canterbury region of New Zealand that existed three times from 1875 to 1911. It was represented by six Members of Parliament.

Population centres

In December 1887, the House of Representatives voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, and Geraldine was one of eight electorates to be re-created for the 1890 election.[1]

History

The electorate was formed for the 1875–1876 election, which was held on 27 December 1875 in this electorate.[2] Edward Wakefield, John Hayhurst and Alexander Wilson contested the election,[3] and gained 102, 102 and 44 votes, respectively. The returning officer thus used his casting vote and returned Wakefield as elected.[2] In the 1881 election, Wakefield was defeated by William Postlethwaite.[4][5]

The electorate was abolished for the 1887 election and the town of Geraldine was covered by the Rangitata electorate.[6]

Geraldine was re-established for the 1890 election, and replaced again for the 1893 election; this time by the Pareora electorate. At the 1893 general election Frederick Flatman won Pareora from Arthur Rhodes the former Geraldine MP.[7]

Geraldine was established for the third time for the 1896 election. It existed until 1911.[7]

Members of Parliament

Geraldine was represented by six Members of Parliament:

Key

  Independent   Conservative   Liberal

Election Winner
1875 election Edward Wakefield
1879 election
1881 election William Postlethwaite
1884 election William Rolleston
(Electorate abolished 1887–1890)
1890 election Arthur Rhodes
(Electorate abolished 1893–1896)
1896 election Frederick Flatman
1899 election
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election Thomas Buxton
(Electorate abolished 1911)

Election results

1899 election
1899 general election: Geraldine[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frederick Flatman 2,331 65.90 +12.95
Independent Charles Nicholson MacIntosh 775 21.91
Conservative John Fraser 431 12.19
Majority 1,556 43.99 +38.09
Turnout 3,537 81.44 -0.67
Registered electors 4,343

1896 election
1896 general election: Geraldine[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frederick Flatman 1,893 52.95
Conservative Arthur Rhodes 1,682 47.05
Majority 211 5.90
Turnout 3,575 82.11
Registered electors 4,354[11]

1890 election
1890 general election: Geraldine[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arthur Rhodes 994 59.70
Liberal Searby Buxton 671 40.30
Majority 323 19.39
Turnout 1,665 66.30
Registered electors 2,511

1884 election
1884 general election: Geraldine[13][14][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent William Rolleston 473 52.79
Independent Alfred Cox 403 44.98
Independent Francis Franks 20 2.23
Majority 70 7.81
Turnout 896 61.71
Registered electors 1,452

Notes
  1. McRobie 1989, pp. 54ff.
  2. "The election - for Geraldine". Timaru Herald. Vol. XXIII, no. 1301. 29 December 1875. p. 4. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  3. "Nomination at Geraldine". Timaru Herald. Vol. XXIII, no. 1300. 27 December 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  4. "The General Election : Geraldine". The Star. No. 4255. 10 December 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  5. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Geraldine". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District. Christchurch. Retrieved 23 May 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. "The General Elections : Rangitata". Timaru Herald. Vol. XLV, no. 4048. 28 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  7. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
  8. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  9. "General Election". The Timaru Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 3129. 8 December 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  10. "General Election". The Timaru Herald. Vol. LX, no. 2263. 8 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  11. McRobie 1989, p. 64.
  12. "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  13. "The General Election, 1884". National Library. 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  14. "Nominations". The Press. Vol. XL, no. 5877. 15 July 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  15. "Election of Members for the House of Representatives". The Timaru Herald. Vol. XL, no. 3086. 14 August 1884. p. 5. Retrieved 23 February 2014.

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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.