The first member of parliament for Western Maori from 1868 was Mete Kīngi Paetahi.[1] At the nomination meeting in Wanganui, held at the Courthouse, Paetahi was the only candidate proposed.[2] He was thus elected unopposed.[3] He represented the electorate of Western Maori from 1868 to 1870. He contested the electorate again at the 1871 general election, but of the three candidates, he came last. He was defeated by Wiremu Parata, with Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui in second place.[4]
In the 1879 election there was some doubt about the validity of the election result, and a law was passed to confirm the result in Western Maori and two other electorates.[5]
From the 1890s to the 1930s the seat was held by various Reform Party MPs. In 1935, Toko Ratana the eldest son of the founder of the Ratana Church won the seat and became the second Ratana MP; he became a Labour MP following the Labour-Ratana pact. From this point until the abolition of the seat prior to the 1996 election the seat was held by Labour MPs.
Toko Ratana died in 1944 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Matiu Rātana. He died in 1949 shortly before the 1949 general election. His wife Iriaka Rātana stood in his stead, despite significant opposition from those supporting traditional leadership roles, with Te Puea Herangi speaking out against her claim to "captain the Tainui canoe". Only the strong backing of the Rātana church and her threat to stand as a Rātana Independent secured her the Labour Party nomination. She became the first woman Maori MP, getting a similar majority (6317) to her husband in 1946 (his majority then was 6491), but no less than seven independent candidates (and one Kauhananui candidate, K Nutana) stood against her; they got 116 to 326 votes each.[6]
Note that the affiliation of many early candidates is not known. There is contradictory information about the affiliation of Henare Kaihau. In Wilson's New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984, the authoritative work covering parliamentary history, Kaihau is listed as a Reform Party supporter from the party's inception in 1908.[8] Kaihau does, however, appear on a poster of the Liberal Party in 1910.[9]The New Zealand Herald, in its 1905 election reporting, also lists him as a government supporter, i.e. a Liberal.[10]
Another example of contradictory reporting is for the 1911 election. Three newspapers, The Marlborough Express, The New Zealand Herald, and the Auckland Star reported political affiliations. Two papers have Māui Pōmare as an independent, whilst the third has him as a Labour supporter. Henare Kaihau is given three different affiliations: independent, Liberal, and Reform. Pepene Eketone is categorised as Labour by two of the papers, whilst the third has him as a Liberal supporter. The Auckland Star lists another Labour supporter, but the name is a composite of first and last names of two of the candidates.[11][12][13]
^Matiu Ratana died on 7 October 1949, shortly before the 1949 election. His wife stood for election instead.
^Final results were not reported in contemporary media
^Rankings from the third place down are based on preliminary results only
^The source says 6,022, but the votes add up to 6,012. Whilst the source states the count was final, McRobie states the number of votes cast as 6,072.[28]
^Some sources have Hema Ropata te Ao as an Independent
^Some sources have Tuwhakaririka Patena as an Independent
^Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. 402. ISBN0-475-11200-8.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN0-477-01384-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC154283103.
Wilson, John (9 November 2003). The Origins of the Māori Seats(PDF) (updated May 2009 ed.). Wellington: Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
