Christchurch South was a 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, ...

in the city 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 / ...

, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and then from 1905 to 1946.

Population centres

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–76 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Christchurch South, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries. The boundaries of the Christchurch South electorate were Worcester Street in the north (through Latimer and Cathedral Squares), Fitzgerald Avenue in the east (then called East Town Belt), Moorhouse Avenue in the south (then called South Town Belt), and Hagley Avenue (then called Lincoln Road) and Rolleston Avenue (then called Antigua Street) in the west. The electorate thus comprised the southern half of what is now considered the central city.

History

Thomas Joynt contested the Christchurch South electorate in the , but was beaten by the incumbent, John Holmes, with 638 votes to 600.

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 husba ...

Aaron Ayers Aaron Ayers (1836 – 16 September 1900) arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand from England as a newly married man in his mid 20s. He was a hairdresser and tobacconist for two decades before entering the auctioneering business. He was elected Mayo ...

, Henry Thomson and

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 ...

contested the Christchurch South electorate in the . Perceval won the election. The 1939 Christchurch South by-election held on 3 June was caused by the death of Ted Howard during the term of the 26th New Zealand Parliament. On nomination day, two candidates were put forward: Robert Macfarlane for the Labour Party and

Melville Lyons Melville Edwin Lyons (27 February 1889 – 7 May 1955), sometimes called Tiny, was briefly a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand until his election was declared void. A journalist by trade, he became involved in local politics in ...

for the National Party.

Mabel Howard Mabel Bowden Howard (18 April 1894 – 23 June 1972) was a well-known New Zealand trade unionist and politician. She was the first woman secretary of a predominantly male union (the Canterbury General Labourers' Union). She was a Member of Parl ...

, Ted Howard's daughter, had hoped to be put forward by the Labour Party, and she was endorsed by the local branch of the party. The national executive of the Labour Party chose Macfarlane, and Howard believed that she was opposed by the party's hierarchy due to her connections to

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 ...

, who was seen as a radical within the party. The chosen candidate, Macfarlane, had been

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Ph ...

since the previous year. Macfarlane was the successful candidate.

Election results

The electorate was represented by five members of parliament. Key

Election results

1943 election

There were six candidates in 1943, with the election won by Robert Macfarlane over

Ron Guthrey Albert Ronald Guthrey (15 January 1916 – 8 September 2008) was a New Zealand local politician. He served as a Christchurch City Councillor for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch. He was a World War II veteran and he and his ...

1939 by-election

1931 election

1928 election

1914 election

1908 election

1905 election

References

Bibliography

* * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed 1881 establishments in New Zealand 1946 disestablishments Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Christchurch History of Christchurch 1905 establishments in New Zealand 1890 disestablishments in New Zealand 1946 disestablishments in New Zealand