Ashley was a New Zealand electorate situated north of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. It was in use from 1866 to 1902, and was replaced with the Hurunui electorate.

Population centres

In the 1865 electoral redistribution, the

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focussed its review of electorates to

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

electorates only, as the

Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

had caused significant population growth, and a redistribution of the existing population. Fifteen additional South Island electorates were created, including Ashley, and the number of Members of Parliament was increased by 13 to 70. The Ashley electorate was formed from a corner of Cheviot electorate, and included the towns of

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

, Amberley, and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The electorate's boundaries remained roughly the same until the 1881 election, when it expanded slightly into

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

electorate and Amberley was returned to Cheviot. In the 1887 election, the electorate expanded westwards into Cheviot's southern tip. In the 1890 election, Cheviot itself was abolished, and the majority of its territory was absorbed into Ashley — to compensate, territory was taken from Ashley in the south and given to Kaiapoi. In the 1893 election, Ashley expanded further north, taking the town of

Kaikōura Kaikōura () is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1, 180 km north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of (as of ). The town is the governmen ...

from Wairau electorate, but ceded Oxford to Kaiapoi in the south. In the 1902 election, Ashley was dissolved, being replaced with an electorate called Hurunui, covering much the same area.

History

The first representative was Lancelot Walker, who won the unopposed. Walker resigned in the following year and was succeeded by Henry Tancred in the ; Tancred was also unopposed. Tancred retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1870 and was succeeded by

John Evans Brown John Evans Brown (16 February 1827 – 9 July 1895) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Born in Pennsylvania, he came to New Zealand after spending time in Australia, where he was a farmer and US Consul. He farmed in Canterbu ...

, who won the election against two others. At the 1876 election, Brown was challenged by

William Miles Maskell William Miles Maskell (5 October 1839 – 1 May 1898) was a New Zealand farmer, politician and entomologist. Early life Born in Mapperton, Dorset, England to Mary Scott and William Maskell, an Anglican clergyman, he attended school at St M ...

, who had been one of his opponents in 1871, but Brown retained his seat. For the 1879 election, three candidates contested the election, with

William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse ( 1825 – 15 September 1881) was a British-born New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province. Early life Moorhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, and baptised on 18 December 1825; th ...

gaining an absolute majority. The 1881 election was contested by five candidates, with

William Fisher Pearson William Fisher Pearson (1854 – 3 July 1888) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Pearson was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. He worked for the Bank of New Zealand for several years. His work there impresse ...

the winner. In the 1884 election, Pearson had a dominant win over one challenger. In the , the electorate was contested by Richard Meredith,

James Dupré Lance James Dupré Lance (28 January 1829 – 28 March 1897) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Canterbury, New Zealand. Biography Lance was born in Boulogne, France. He first came to New Zealand in 1856 to visit his brothers. He conte ...

and John George Knight, who received 648, 611 and 137 votes, respectively. Meredith was thus declared elected.

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1899 election

1896 election

1893 election

1890 election

1888 by-election

1887 election

1884 election

1881 election

1879 election

1875–1876 election

1871 election

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand 1865 establishments in New Zealand 1902 disestablishments in New Zealand Waimakariri District Politics of Canterbury, New Zealand