Gisborne 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 ...

. It existed from 1908 to 1996, and it was represented by 12

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

In the 1907 electoral redistribution, a major change that had to be allowed for was a reduction of the tolerance to ±750 to those electorates where the country quota applied. The

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

had once again a higher population growth than the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, and three seats were transferred from south to north. In the resulting boundary distribution, every existing electorate was affected, and three electorates were established for the first time, including the Taumarunui electorate. These changes took effect with the . The city of Gisborne was located within the electorate. In the initial area covered by the electorate, the city was located near the electorate's northern border, and it went as far south as just short of Bay View.

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

was thus also located within the initial area. In the 1911 electoral redistribution, the southern boundary shifted north significantly, and Wairoa was lost to the electorate. In the 1918 electoral redistribution, the Gisborne electorate lost large inland areas, but re-gained Wairoa. In the 1922 electoral redistribution, changes to the boundaries were minimal, and in the 1927 electoral redistribution, the electorate was left unaltered. In the 1937 electoral redistribution, large inland areas were gained and Wairoa lost. The changes in the 1946 electoral redistribution were most significant, with the city of Gisborne now located near the southern boundary of the electorate, and all of the

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

being gained. The electorate now included the settlements of

Te Karaka Te Karaka is a small settlement inland from Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the valley of the Waipaoa River close to its junction with its tributary, the Waihora River. Te Karaka is ...

, Matawai,

Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay ( mi, Uawa) is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around the bay is rugged and remote, and for m ...

, and

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a- ...

History

The electorate existed from 1908 to 1996, when it was replaced by the Mahia electorate, which was renamed

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from 2002. Its first representative was James Carroll of 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 ...

, who served for three terms until his defeat in the .

Douglas Lysnar William Douglas Lysnar (30 April 1867 – 12 October 1942), known as Douglas Lysnar, was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party (New Zealand), Reform Party. Early life He was born in Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand on 30 April 1867. He ...

represented the Gisborne electorate from 1919 to

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, when he was defeated. In the 1928 contest Lysnar stood as an

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supporter of the Reform Party and was successful. During 1930, he stopped supporting the Reform Party and became fully independent. At the following election in 1931 he ran as an Independent, but was not returned, beaten 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 ...

David Coleman David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from ...

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

1922 election

1919 election

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gisborne (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand Gisborne District 1908 establishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand