Avon is a former New Zealand parliamentary
electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a Prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...
. It was created for the
1861 general election and existed until 1996. It was represented by 13
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
and was held by Independents,
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
or
Labour Party representatives.
Population centres
The electorate was in
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 / ...
, New Zealand, named after the
Avon River. For the
1887 by-election, polling booths were in
Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
and
Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometers to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (NZ Eur ...
.
For the
1887 general election, polling booths were in Papanui, Bright's Road,
Spreydon
Spreydon is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, south-south-west of Cathedral Square. The most central street through Spreydon is Barrington Street. Spreydon is flanked by the suburbs Hoon Hay, Sydenham, and Lower Cashmere. State Highway ...
and
New Brighton.
For the , polling booths were in Papanui,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Ohoka
Ohoka is a small semi-rural township on the northern outskirts 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 ...
and
Clarkville.
History
The electorate was created in 1861, and existed continuously until 1996, when with
MMP it was absorbed into the new
Christchurch East
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...
electorate.
Alfred Richard Creyke
Alfred Richard Creyke JP (1 September 1831 – 30 November 1892) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a significant landholder in Canterbury. Of English descent, he spent just over ten years in the colony be ...
stood in the
1861 general election (held on 1 February) in the Avon electorate for
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, whilst
William Thomson stood in the same electorate for the
Canterbury Provincial Council
The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch.
History
Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...
. Thomson proposed Creyke and vice versa; both were elected unopposed.
Creyke thus became the first representative.
Creyke resigned from Parliament on 21 April 1862.
Creyke was succeeded by
William Thomson, who was elected in the 11 June and took his oath on 30 July 1862. He retired on 27 January 1866. Thomson was succeeded by
Crosbie Ward
Crosbie Ward (10 February 1832 – 10 November 1867) was a 19th-century member of parliament in New Zealand.
Early life
Ward was born in Killinchy in County Down, Ireland, in 1832. His father was Rev. Henry Ward. His paternal grandfather was ...
, who won the against Charles Wellington Bishop (brother of
Edward Bishop).
Ward resigned in the following year.
William Reeves won the resulting by-election. He resigned in the following year.
William Rolleston
William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent.
Early life
Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...
represented the electorate from the resulting by-election (elected unopposed) to 1884. In the
1879 general election, he was returned unopposed.
Rolleston did not stand in the Avon electorate in the , but (successfully) contested
Geraldine instead.
Rolleston was succeeded by
Leonard Harper in the Avon electorate. Harper resigned on 3 May 1887,
and the resulting
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 ...
was contested by
Edwin Blake
Edwin Blake (1830 – 18 March 1914) was a 19th-century Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Early life
Blake was born in Hampstead, England. He and his brother Walter were both educated at Wimborne and then Et ...
and William Dunlop, who received 255 and 252 votes, respectively.
The
1887 general election was contested by Edwin Blake and E. G. Wright.
Blake won the election by a good margin.
In the , Edwin Blake and
George Gatonby Stead received 774 and 587 votes, respectively.
At the end of the parliamentary term in 1893, Blake retired from politics.
William Tanner won the . In the
previous Parliament, he had represented the electorate. Tanner was initially an independent, but joined the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
for the . In the , he was beaten by
George Warren Russell
George Warren Russell (24 February 1854 – 28 June 1937) was a New Zealand politician from Christchurch. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Public Health in the wartime National government, and was responsible for the N ...
in the
second ballot (the voting system in place from 1908 until 1913). In the , four candidates contested the electorate, with Russell representing the liberal
Ward Government,
James McCombs
James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton.
Biography Early life and career
McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...
standing as an Independent Liberal, J. O. Jamieson as an opposition candidate and W. R. Smith representing labour interests. Russell and McCombs polled 3,040 and 2,817 votes, respectively, and proceeded to the second ballot.
Russell won the second ballot with 3,854 to 3,583 votes.
Russell was defeated in the by
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
's
Dan Sullivan Dan, Danny, or Daniel Sullivan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Daniel J. Sullivan (born 1940), American film and theater director
* Daniel G. Sullivan, American screenwriter
* Dan Sullivan (musician), indie rock musician
* Dan Panic, Amer ...
. Sullivan was successful at the next eight subsequent elections. In the , he was opposed by James Neil Clarke of the
National Party, who a few years later became
Deputy-Mayor of Christchurch. Sullivan died in office on 8 April 1947.
Sullivan's death caused the by-election, which was won by
John Mathison
John Mathison (29 September 1901 – 12 October 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was famed for his skills as a chairman and well known for his "unmistakably Scottish" accent, eloquent speeches and dry sense of humour ...
of the Labour Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1957 to 1960 in the
Second Labour Government
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...
and retired from Parliament in 1972.
Mathison was succeeded by
Mary Batchelor
Mary Dorothy Batchelor (née Foley, 7 January 1927 – 12 March 2009) was a New Zealand trade unionist, feminist and Labour Party politician.
Biography Early life and career
Batchelor was born in Christchurch in 1927, the elder of two daughter ...
, who represented the electorate for five parliamentary terms.
Batchelor in turn was succeeded by
Larry Sutherland
Larry Walter Sutherland (15 April 1951 – 21 June 2005) was a New Zealand politician, and an MP from 1987 to 1999, representing the Labour Party.
Early life and career
Sutherland was born in Christchurch in 1951 and was raised in a Halswell o ...
, who won the . He served the electorate until its abolition in 1996. He successfully contested the replacement electorate of
Christchurch East
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...
in the .
Members of Parliament
Key
Election results
1993 election
1990 election
1987 election
1984 election
1981 election
1978 election
1975 election
1972 election
1969 election
1966 election
1963 election
1960 election
1957 election
1954 election
1951 election
1949 election
1947 by-election
Robertson was a member of the
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) but his nomination was refused endorsement by DLP leader
John A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history.
Lee was elected as a me ...
.
1946 election
1943 election
1935 election
1931 election
1928 election
1925 election
1922 election
1919 election
1914 election
1911 election
1908 election
1899 election
1896 election
1893 election
1890 election
1866 election
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avon (New Zealand Electorate)
1860 establishments in New Zealand
1996 disestablishments in New Zealand
Historical electorates of New Zealand