Hokonui 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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
An ...
in the
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...
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 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 Hokonui, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.
The electorate included the
Hokonui Hills
The Hokonui Hills, also known as ''The Hokonui Mountains'' or simply ''The Hokonui'', are a range of hills in central Southland, New Zealand. They rise to 600 metres above the surrounding Southland Plains, of which the hills mark a northern extre ...
, the range of hills which rise above the
Southland Plains
The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two prin ...
, of which the hills mark a northern extremity.
History
The Hokonui electorate in the Southland Region of New Zealand was formed for the . The 1881 election was contested by
Henry Driver
Henry Driver (1831–23 Jan 1893) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Otago, New Zealand.
He was born in the United States, but as a young man emigrated to Victoria, Australia. When the Otago Gold Rush began in 1861 he establis ...
,
Cuthbert Cowan
Cuthbert Cowan (1835 – 4 April 1927) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Southland, New Zealand.
Biography
Political career
Cowan represented the Wallace electorate in 1869, but he resigned after only three months, and then th ...
and
Peter Finn, who obtained 527, 431, and 121 votes, respectively. Driver was thus declared elected. Driver had previously represented the electorate for four parliamentary terms. Cowan had represented the in 1869 following a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
for only a few months. Peter Finn, a supporter of the previous Premier
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 a barrister and solicitor from
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
who had previously been a politician in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
The was contested by Cowan, Frank Stephen Canning, Justus Hobbs, and Thomas James Lumsden (a son of
George Lumsden
George Lumsden (12 March 1815 – 11 February 1904) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.
Biography
Lumsden was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1815. He learned the trade of watchmaker from his uncle at Pittenweem. Lumsden and his wife Chr ...
). Cowan, Canning, Hobbs and Lumsden received 557, 286, 52 and 5 votes, respectively.
In the , Cowan was challenged by
Alfred Baldey, a farmer from
Ryal Bush __NOTOC__
Ryal or Ryals may refer to:
Places
* Ryal, Northumberland, England
Currency
* Rose Ryal, an English gold coin equal to 30 shillings
* Spur ryal, an English gold coin equal to 15 shillings
* Zanzibari ryal, the currency of Zanzibar betwee ...
who was prominent in local Southland politics.
Cowan and Baldey received 649 and 593 votes, respectively.
At the end of the parliamentary term in 1890, the Hokonui electorate was abolished and Cowan retired from Parliament.
Election results
Hokonui was represented by two
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 ...
.
Key
Notes
References
*
*
{{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed
Historical electorates of New Zealand
Politics of Southland, New Zealand
1881 establishments in New Zealand
1890 disestablishments in New Zealand