The 1890 New Zealand general election was one of New Zealand's most significant. It marked the beginning of
party politics in New Zealand with the formation of the
Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to:
Australia
In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia:
* Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...
, which was to enact major welfare, labour and electoral reforms, including giving the
vote to women.
It was also the first election in which there was no legal
plural voting. Multi-member electorates were re-introduced in the four main centres and the '
country quota' (which gave more weight to rural votes) was increased to 28%.
Following the election and the resignation of the previous government headed by
Harry Atkinson,
John Ballance formed the first
Liberal Party ministry, taking office on 24 January 1891. At this stage no formal party organisation existed, but the formation of the Liberal ministry signalled the end of the system by which governments were made up of a loose and unstable coalition of independent MPs and the beginning of the 'party system'.
Electoral redistribution
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, with 12 new electorates created. Of those, four electorates were created for the first time: , , , and . The remaining eight electorates had previously existed and were re-created through the 1890 electoral redistribution: , , , , , , , and .
74 MPs were elected to the
11th session of the
New Zealand Parliament.
The
Māori electorates voted on 27 November and the European (now known as General) electorates on 5 December. There were 183,171 voters registered in the sixty-two European electorates, which returned a total of 70 members.
This figure includes 13,668 voters in the six electorates where there was an unopposed return. 136,337 valid votes were cast in European electorates, including additional votes cast in the four three-member electorates.
Results
Party totals
Note that as the election was held before the establishment of formal political parties, the figures should only be regarded as an approximate indication of the division of political opinion.
Votes summary
Mackie and Rose suggest there was a 74.4% turnout, based on valid votes cast as a percentage of the registered electors. The official turnout figure is 80.4%, calculated on a different basis (see the Elections New Zealand official results web-site link below for further details of the changing methods used to calculate the official turnout).
The Māori vote, for the remaining four seats, was held on 27 November. Maori electorates did not have electoral rolls so their voting figures and percentages are not included above.
Electorate results
The following table shows the results of the 1890 general election. Six European members were returned unopposed.
:Key
, -
, colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" , General electorates
, -
, -
, rowspan=3 ,
City of Auckland
Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland Re ...
, rowspan=3 colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background-color:#ececec;" ,
New electorate
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
William Lee Rees
William Lee Rees (16 December 1836 – 18 May 1912) was an English-born New Zealand cricketer, politician and lawyer.
Early years
Rees was born in Bristol in 1836, the son of James Rees, a surgeon, and Elizabeth Pocock. Rees' father died when ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 260
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" , Adam Porter
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
Thomas Thompson
, style="text-align:right;" , 442
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
William Joseph Napier
William Joseph Napier (1857 – 28 November 1925) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for City Auckland (1899–1902) in New Zealand.
Early life
Napier was born in Ireland and arrived in New Zealand when he was five years old. He was educ ...
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
John Shera
John McEffer Shera (1840 – 19 September 1906) was a New Zealand Liberal Party, Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand.
Biography Early life
Shera was born in Ireland in 1840. He sailed to Australia in 1867 before continui ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 1,013
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
James Wallis
, -
, -
, rowspan=3 ,
City of Christchurch
, rowspan=3 colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background-color:#ececec;" ,
New electorate
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
William Pember Reeves
, style="text-align:right;" , 802
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" , John Tippett Smith
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
Westby Perceval
Sir Westby Brook Perceval (11 May 1854 – 23 June 1928) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party.
Biography
Perceval was born in Launceston, Tasmania in 1854. His mother was Sarah Brook (née Bailey) and his father was her husban ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 945
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
Edward Wingfield Humphreys
Edward Wingfield Humphreys (1841 – April 1892) was a New Zealand member of parliament representing Christchurch North from 1889 to 1890. He was also a farmer in Otago, and his extended family included a number of political figures.
Early li ...
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
Richard Molesworth Taylor
Richard Molesworth Taylor (1835 – 26 August 1919), also known as Sydenham Taylor, was a three-term New Zealand Member of Parliament. Born in London in 1835, he moved to Auckland on the ''Heather Bell'' in 1846. He travelled to Victoria in 1851 ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 2,494
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
Eden George
, -
, -
, rowspan=3 ,
City of Dunedin
, rowspan=3 colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background-color:#ececec;" ,
New electorate
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
David Pinkerton
David Pinkerton (26 September 1836 – 23 June 1906) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Dunedin City, in the South Island.
Early life
Born in Kirknewton, West Lothian, Scotland. He married Margaret Fairley on 1 December 1857 with whom ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 348
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
James Allen
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
Henry Fish
Henry Smith Fish (15 July 1838 – 23 September 1897) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. For a time, he was a member of the Liberal Party. He was Mayor of Dunedin for a total of six years. Smith is remembered as one of the staunch oppo ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 995
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" , Richard Henry Leary
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
William Hutchison
, style="text-align:right;" , 998
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
Alfred Lee Smith
Alfred Lee Smith (1838 – 2 May 1917) was a Yorkshire-born businessman from Dunedin, New Zealand. He was a member of the member of the New Zealand Legislative Council for one term from 1898 to 1905.
Early life
Lee Smith was born in Yorkshire i ...
, -
, -
, rowspan=3 ,
Wellington, City of
, rowspan=3 colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background-color:#ececec;" ,
New electorate
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
George Fisher
, style="text-align:right;" , 183
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
Francis Bell Francis Bell may refer to:
*Arthur Bell (martyr) (1590–1643), also known as Francis Bell, Franciscan and English martyr
*Dillon Bell (Francis Dillon Bell; 1822–1898), New Zealand politician, father of the New Zealand Prime Minister
*Francis Bel ...
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
John Duthie
, style="text-align:right;" , 561
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" , Edwin George Jellicoe
, -
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;background-color:;" ,
Kennedy Macdonald
Thomas Kennedy Macdonald (6 April 1847 – 17 October 1914), known as Kennedy Macdonald or Kennedy Mac, was a 19th-century New Zealand Liberal Party, Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.
Early life
Macdonald was born ...
, style="text-align:right;" , 727
, style="background-color:;" ,
, style="text-align:center;" ,
Francis Fraser Francis Fraser may refer to:
*Francis Charles Fraser (1903–1978), cetologist
*Frankie Fraser (1923–2014), English criminal
* Francis Humphris Fraser (1833–1911), New Zealand politician
*Francis Richard Fraser (1885–1964), Scottish physician ...
, -
, -
, colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" ,
Maori electorates
, -
Table footnotes:
See also
*
Elections in New Zealand
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Official election results website
{{New Zealand elections