The 1894 Waitemata by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 9 April 1894 during the

12th New Zealand Parliament The 12th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1893 general election in November and December of that year. 1893 general election In the 1892 electoral redistribution, population shift to the ...

in the rural North Island seat of the

Waitemata Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

. The contest was won by the independent conservative candidate

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...

. Massey somewhat narrowly beat the Liberal candidate

Jackson Palmer Jackson Palmer (1867 – 13 August 1919) was the Member of Parliament for Waitemata and Ohinemuri, in the North Island of New Zealand. Early life Born in Belfast, Ireland, Palmer came to New Zealand as an infant. He was educated at Auckland Gr ...

recording only a 173-vote majority.

Background

The seat was declared vacant when sitting MP

Richard Monk Richard Monk (1833 – 2 May 1912) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Richard Monk was born in Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolita ...

had his election declared void. Opposition supporters in the Waitemata area sent a telegram to Massey asking him to stand in the by-election on their behalf. Massey was allegedly atop a haystack when the telegram arrived and it was passed up to him on a pitchfork. He decided to accept. Massey's nomination for the election also came under scrutiny, with a written objection being lodged against him on the alleged ground that one of the men who nominated him was not qualified to do so. Massey's only opponent was

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

lawyer

, an

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

, who had won the Waitemata seat previously, in the election. Fellow conservative

Eden George Ernest Eden George (18 September 1863 – 2 May 1927), known as Eden George, was born in New South Wales and came to New Zealand as a young man. He made his career in photography and was active in Auckland and Dunedin, but mainly in Christch ...

also intended to stand, but ultimately withdrew from the contest.

Results

The following table gives the election results: Monk won the electorate again in , and retired in 1902. Massey stood successfully for

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

in 1896 and was to stay in Parliament for the remaining 31 years of his life, serving as Prime Minister (1912–25). Palmer would later win the seat of Ohinemuri in the election of .

Notes

References

* {{1891–1911 New Zealand by-elections Waitemata 1894 1894 elections in New Zealand Politics of the Auckland Region