Franklin was a rural 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 ...

. It existed from 1861 to 1996 during four periods.

Population centres

The original electorate from 1861 to 1881 included the South Auckland towns of

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

and

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, which ...

, and west of Waiuku to the West Coast. When reconstituted in 1890 the northern boundary was north of Papakura, and (with the growth of Auckland) now excluded Papatoetoe. 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 Franklin was one of eight electorates to be re-created for the 1890 election. The 1981 census had shown that the North Island had experienced further population growth, and three additional general seats were created through the 1983 electoral redistribution, bringing the total number of electorates to 95. The South Island had, for the first time, experienced a population loss, but its number of general electorates was fixed at 25 since the 1967 electoral redistribution. More of the South Island population was moving to

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 / ...

, and two electorates were abolished, while two electorates were recreated. In the North Island, six electorates were newly created, three electorates were recreated (including Franklin), and six electorates were abolished. The 1987 electoral redistribution took the continued population growth in the North Island into account, and two additional general electorates were created, bringing the total number of electorates to 97. In the South Island, the shift of population to Christchurch had continued. Overall, three electorates were newly created, three electorates were recreated, and four electorates were abolished (including Franklin). All of those electorates were in the North Island. Changes in the South Island were restricted to boundary changes. These changes came into effect with the .

History

The electorate existed from 1861 to 1881 as a two-member electorate, when it was split into the

Franklin North Franklin North was a parliamentary electorate in the southern part of the Auckland Region of New Zealand from 1881 to 1890. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six ...

and

Franklin South Franklin South was a parliamentary electorate in the southern part of the Auckland Region of New Zealand from 1881 to 1890. During the three parliamentary terms of its existence, the electorate was represented by Ebenezer Hamlin. Population cent ...

electorates. One of the first MPs,

Marmaduke Nixon Marmaduke George Nixon (1813 or 1814 – 27 May 1864) was a notable soldier in the New Zealand Wars. Born at Malta, he joined the British Army in 1831, spending most of his career as an officer in British India with the 39th Regiment of Foot. H ...

was killed in action in 1864 whilst leading an assault on a Māori village during the

Invasion of the Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

, forcing the 1864 by-election. In 1890 it was reconstituted, to 1978 and then from 1984 to 1987, and 1993–96. From 1978 to 1984 it was renamed the Rangiriri electorate, and from 1987 to 1993 it was renamed the electorate but in 1993 it reverted to "Franklin". In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

with MMP, the area became part of the

Port Waikato Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks ...

electorate. The single-member electorate was first represented by

Ebenezer Hamlin Ebenezer Hamlin (1844 – 4 June 1900) was a member of parliament in New Zealand, and an independent conservative. Early life and family Hamlin was born in Orua on the Manukau Harbour to the Rev James Hamlin, a missionary who had arrived in Ne ...

from 1890 to 1893 when he retired. Benjamin Harris defeated the future Prime Minister

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...

in , but the contest had the opposite outcome. From 1896 to 1925 Franklin was represented by the Reform Party's Massey, known as ''Farmer Bill'', the Prime Minister from 1912 to 1925. Ewen McLennan then held the electorate for one term before he retired, and was replaced by Massey's son Jack Massey. In 1935 Franklin was won by

Arthur Sexton Arthur Clifton Axford Sexton (1892 – 30 June 1970) was a New Zealand politician of the Country Party (New Zealand), Country Party. Biography Early life and career Sexton was born in Auckland in 1892. He was educated at Auckland Grammar Scho ...

of the Country Party, but he lost the seat in 1938 to Jack Massey, now standing for the National Party. He held the seat until 1957, when he was deselected by the National Party in favour of

Alfred E. Allen Alfred Ernest Allen (20 May 1912 – 9 March 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. In 1972, he was the seventeenth Speaker of the House of Representatives. Biography Allen was born in Onehunga, Auckland, in 1912, a ...

. Alf Allen held the seat until 1972, when he retired and was replaced by future National minister

Bill Birch Sir William Francis Birch (born 9 April 1934), usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government. Early life Birch was born in Hastings on ...

, who held the seat over the remaining three periods that the seat existed.

Members of Parliament

Multi-member electorate

Key

Single-member electorate

Election results

1993 election

1984 election

1975 election

1972 election

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

Table footnotes:

1928 election

1925 by-election

1922 election

1919 election

1914 election

1911 election

1908 election

1905 election

1902 election

1899 election

1896 election

1893 election

1890 election

1874 by-election

1868 by-election

Notes

References

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External links