Buller 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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

, from 1871 to 1972. It was represented by eleven

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 ...

Population centres

The 1870 electoral redistribution was undertaken by a

parliamentary select committee A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Select committees exist in the British Parliam ...

based on population data from the 1867 New Zealand census. Eight sub-committees were formed, with two members each making decisions for their own

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

; thus members set their own electorate boundaries. The number of electorates was increased from 61 to 72, and Buller was one of the new electorates. The Buller electorate was created from areas that previously belonged to the and electorates. Settlements located in the initial electorate area were Westport,

Inangahua Junction Inangahua is a small settlement in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It consists of three settled areas: Inangahua Junction at the confluence of the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, north of Reefton and southeast of Westport; Inagahua L ...

, and

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63 ...

. For the , polling booths were in Westport, Charleston, Brighton, Addison's,

Waimangaroa Waimangaroa is a small town located on the West Coast of New Zealand. The township lies on the south-west bank of the Waimangaroa River, at the western foot of the Denniston Plateau. It is to the north east of Westport and 13 km south-eas ...

, Inangahua Junction, Lyell, and

Karamea Karamea is a town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the northernmost settlement of any real size on the West Coast, and is located northeast by road from Westport. Apart from a narrow coastal strip, the town of Karam ...

History

The electorate's first representative was

Eugene O'Conor Eugene Joseph O'Conor (23 February 1835 – 5 July 1912) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for the Buller electorate, in the South Island. Private life Born in Ireland in 1835, O'Conor went to Victoria, Australia in 1854, and came to New ...

, who was successful in the , but he was defeated at the next election in

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

Joseph Henry Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smith ...

. Henry in turn was defeated by

James Bickerton Fisher James Bickerton Fisher (2 November 1843 – 23 January 1910) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand. Family genealogy Old notes from the Rev Thomas Richard Fisher, James Bickerton Fisher's father, had his fami ...

at the . Fisher retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1881. Fisher was succeeded by John Munro, who won the . Munro was defeated at the next election in by Eugene O'Conor, who thus started his second period of representation. O'Conor, who 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 ...

, was beaten in by

Roderick McKenzie Roderick McKenzie (1852 – 9 October 1934) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Buller and Motueka, in the South Island. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career He was born in Ross-shire, Scotland in 1852. ...

. In the , McKenzie successfully stood in the electorate. Patrick O'Regan won the 1896 election in the Buller electorate. At the , he was defeated by James Colvin, who held the electorate until his death in 1919. From

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

the Buller electorate was represented by two radical trade unionists from the coal mines of the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

Harry Holland Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Holland was born at G ...

and

Paddy Webb Patrick Charles Webb (30 November 1884 – 23 March 1950) was a New Zealand trade unionist and politician. Early life Webb was born in Rutherglen, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria. His father, George Webb, was a miner, and P ...

and then

Jerry Skinner Clarence Farrington Skinner (19 January 1900 – 26 April 1962), commonly known as Jerry or Gerry Skinner, was a Labour politician from New Zealand, the third deputy prime minister of New Zealand between 1957 and 1960, and a minister from 1943 ...

died in office. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, the electorate was split into the

and Tasman electorates.

Members of Parliament

The Buller electorate was represented by eleven MPs: Key

Election results

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1962 by-election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1933 by-election

1931 election

1928 election

1925 election

1922 election

1919 election

1914 election

1899 election

1893 election

1879 election

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buller (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand 1870 establishments in New Zealand 1972 disestablishments in New Zealand Politics of the West Coast, New Zealand