Christchurch 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, ...

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 Rive ...

, New Zealand. It existed three times. Originally it was the Town of Christchurch from 1853 to 1860. From the 1860–1861 election to the 1871 election, it existed as City of Christchurch. It then existed from the 1875–1876 election until the 1881 election. The last period was from the 1890 election to the 1905 election. Since the 1946 election, a similarly named electorate called Christchurch Central has been in existence. The historic electorate was represented by 21 members of parliament. For some of the time, it was represented by one member at a time. During other periods, it was one of the few three-member electorates in New Zealand.

Population centres

In December 1887, 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 ...

voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, and Christchurch was one of eight electorates to be re-created for the 1890 election. The electorate included Christchurch City, Hagley Park, the boroughs of Sydenham and St Albans, and parts of the Linwood borough.

History

1853 to 1871

The nomination meeting for the first election was held on 16 August 1853 at the Christchurch Land Office, together with the nomination meeting for the

Christchurch Country Christchurch Country was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand from 1853 to 1860. It was thus one of the original 24 electorates used for the 1st New Zealand Parliament. Geography The area covered by the Christchurc ...

electorate. The first election was held on Saturday, 20 August between 9 am and 4 pm at the Resident Magistrate's Office in Christchurch, with

Charles Simeon Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric. Life and career He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...

acting as the returning officer. At the nomination meeting on 31 January 1861, John Cracroft Wilson was proposed by William Wilson and seconded by William Thomson. Cracroft Wilson was declared elected unopposed. In the , James FitzGerald was unopposed. From 1853 to 1871, the electorate was represented by one member at a time. Prior to the 1860/61 election, it was known as Town of Christchurch:

1875 to 1881

The electorate was recreated for the 1875 election and existed for two terms until the 1881 election as a three-member electorate. The nomination meeting for the 1875 election was held on 16 December. The former member of the Legislative Council,

George Leslie Lee George Leslie Lee (1814 – 15 September 1897) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 24 July 1862 to 8 November 1870, when he resigned. Lee represented the Oxford electorate on the Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbu ...

, was the

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral ...

Edward Richardson Edward Richardson (7 November 1831 – 26 February 1915) was a New Zealand civil and mechanical engineer, and Member of Parliament. Born in England, he emigrated to Australia and continued there as a railway engineer. Having become a partner ...

, who had previously represented Christchurch West, was nominated by Louis Edward Nathan and seconded by Edward Bishop.

Edward Cephas John Stevens Edward Cephas John Stevens (18 October 1837 – 6 June 1915) was a New Zealand politician in provincial government in Canterbury, and a member of both the lower and upper houses of parliament. A businessman, he controlled the Christchurch ...

, who had previously represented , was nominated John Inglis and seconded by William Derisley Wood. Samuel Paull Andrews was nominated by

Henry Wynn-Williams William Henry Wynn-Williams (1828 – 27 October 1913) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a prominent lawyer in Christchurch. Early life Wynn-Williams was born in August 1828 in Llangar, Conwy County Bo ...

and seconded by Daniel Reese.

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 ...

was nominated by

Fred Hobbs Frederick (Fred) Hobbs (17 December 1841 – 13 May 1920) was Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand 1874–1877 for two terms; he was the first mayor who served more than one term. He is credited with having made significant improvements to the dr ...

and seconded by William Wilson.

Jerningham Wakefield Edward Jerningham Wakefield (25 June 1820 – 3 March 1879), known as Jerningham Wakefield, was the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. As such, he was closely associated with his father's interest in colonisation. He worked for the New Zealand ...

put his own name forward, and he was seconded by James Treadwell. The latter was in turn proposed by J. R. Johnson and seconded by J. S. Buxton. The election was held on 21 December, and Stevens, Richardson, and Moorhouse were returned with 1059, 992, and 662 votes, respectively. Andrews, Wakefield, and Treadwell received 532, 241, and 22 votes, respectively. Historian

George Macdonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational church, Congregational Minister (Christianity), minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature a ...

said of Treadwell that "he was not taken seriously and there was no reason why he should be".

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

was elected in both the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and the City of Christchurch electorates in September 1879. Grey came first in the three-member Christchurch electorate ( Samuel Paull Andrews and Edward Stevens came second with equal numbers of votes, and only 23 votes ahead of

). Richardson petitioned against Grey's return on technical grounds, as Grey had already been elected in the Thames electorate. The electoral commission unseated Grey on 24 October, with Richardson offered to fill this vacancy a few days later. Grey kept the Thames seat and remained a member of parliament through that constituency.

1890 to 1905

From 1890 until the 1905 election, it was a three-member electorate again. Six candidates stood for election in :

William Pember Reeves William Pember Reeves (10 February 1857 – 16 May 1932) was a New Zealand politician, cricketer, historian and poet who promoted social reform. Early life and career Reeves's parents were William Reeves, who was a journalist and politician ...

(2784 votes),

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 ...

(2721 votes),

Richard Molesworth Taylor Richard Molesworth Taylor (1835 – 26 August 1919), also known as Sydenham Taylor, was a three-term New Zealand Member of Parliament. Born in London in 1835, he moved to Auckland on the ''Heather Bell'' in 1846. He travelled to Victoria in 1851 ...

(2614 votes), John Tippett Smith (1811 votes),

Edward Wingfield Humphreys Edward Wingfield Humphreys (1841 – April 1892) was a New Zealand member of parliament representing Christchurch North from 1889 to 1890. He was also a farmer in Otago, and his extended family included a number of political figures. Early lif ...

(1666 votes) 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 ...

(119 votes). Reeves, Perceval and Taylor were thus elected. The 1896 by-election was caused by the appointment of

as Agent-General. Key:

Election results

1901 by-election

1899 election

Table footnotes:

1896 election

Table footnotes:

1896 by-election

1893 election

1891 by-election

1879 election

^b Grey was unseated after a petition as he had already been elected in the electorate

1875 election

1867 by-election

1860 by-election

1853 election

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christchurch (New Zealand Electorate) 1905 disestablishments in New Zealand Historical electorates of New Zealand History of Christchurch Politics of Christchurch 1853 establishments in New Zealand 1890 establishments in New Zealand 1881 disestablishments in New Zealand