Waitomo (New Zealand electorate)
Waitomo was a parliamentary electorate in the Waikato region and the King Country of New Zealand, from 1919 to 1972. The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament.
Population centres
[edit]In the 1918 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained a further three electorates from the South Island due to faster population growth. Only two existing electorates were unaltered, five electorates were abolished, two former electorate were re-established, and three electorates, including Waitomo, were created for the first time.[1] The Taumarunui electorate was abolished through the 1918 electoral redistribution, and the vast majority of the Waitomo electorate's area had previously been in the Taumarunui electorate.[2] Settlements that fell within the initial area of the Waitomo electorate were Ōtorohanga, Te Kūiti, Ōhura, Awakino, Mōkau, and Waitara.[3]
History
[edit]The Waitomo electorate was first established for the 1919 election.[4] The first representative was William Thomas Jennings of the Liberal Party.[4] John Rolleston of the Reform Party defeated the incumbent by 3447 to 3441 votes, a majority of only six votes.[5] Rolleston in turn was defeated in 1928 by Walter Broadfoot of the United Party.[6] Broadfoot joined the National Party in 1936 when it formed through the amalgamation of the United and Reform Parties.[6] He remained the electorate's representative until the 1954 election, when he retired.[6]
Broadfoot was succeeded by David Seath of the National Party, who represented the electorate until the 1972 election, when he retired.[7] In the same year, the Waitomo electorate was abolished.[4]
Members of Parliament
[edit]The Waitomo electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament:[8]
Key
| Liberal | Reform | United | National |
Election results
[edit]1935 election
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United | Walter Broadfoot | 4,521 | 45.86 | ||
| Labour | Jack Jones | 2,995 | 30.38 | ||
| Country Party | J H Penniket | 2,341 | 23.74 | ||
| Informal votes | 65 | 0.65 | |||
| Majority | 1,526 | 15.49 | |||
| Turnout | 9,857 | 91.08 | |||
| Registered electors | 10,822 | ||||
1928 election
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United | Walter Broadfoot | 3,797 | 48.99 | ||
| Reform | John Rolleston | 3,265 | 42.13 | ||
| Labour | Charles Croall | 688 | 8.88 | ||
| Majority | 532 | 6.86 | |||
| Informal votes | 52 | 0.67 | |||
| Turnout | 7,802 | 87.28 | |||
| Registered electors | 8,939 | ||||
Notes
[edit]- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 74, 78.
- ^ McRobie 1989, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Wilson 1985.
- ^ "Official Counts". The Evening Post. Vol. CIV, no. 146. 18 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ a b c Wilson 1985, p. 185.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 233.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 275.
- ^ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 5. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
References
[edit]- 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.