![Invercargill electorate, 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Invercargill_electorate%2C_2014.svg)
Invercargill is an electorate of the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
that has existed since 1866. Since the , the electorate's representative is
Penny Simmonds
Penelope Elsie Simmonds is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She previously served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology.
Early life and career
Si ...
of the
National Party.
Population centres
The electorate covers
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 ...
city and the surrounding rural area, including
Stewart Island / Rakiura
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
. In 1996 a boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of the
Awarua electorate and merged with Invercargill following re-drawing of boundaries due to the introduction of mixed-member proportional voting (
MMP). Minor but steady population decline in the Southland region has generally resulted in Invercargill expanding northwards. The 2013 redistribution, however, has left Invercargill unchanged. The 2020 redistribution added a large area around
Clifden
Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...
and Tuatapere.
History
The electorate was established in 1866 when it separated from the
Wallace electorate.
The first representative was
William Wood William Wood may refer to:
Politicians
* William Wood (MP for Berkshire), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berkshire, 1395
* William Wood (15th century MP), MP for Winchester, 1413
* William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley (1801–1881), British state ...
, who won the . Wood retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1870.
William Henderson Calder
William Henderson Calder was a 19th-century Member 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 ...
succeeded Wood in the and he resigned in March 1873. The resulting was won by
John Cuthbertson, who served until the end of the parliamentary term in 1875.
Cuthbertson was defeated by
George Lumsden in the
1875 election. Lumsden resigned in June 1878, which caused the .
Henry Feldwick was the successful candidate and he commenced his first of three terms for the electorate. At the , Feldwick was defeated by
James Walker Bain, who retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1881. At the , Feldwick was again the successful candidate, only to be defeated again at the , on that occasion by
Joseph Hatch
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
. At the , Feldwick defeated Hatch and commenced his third and final term for the Invercargill electorate, serving until the end of the parliamentary term in 1890.
James Whyte Kelly defeated Feldwick in the . Kelly became a member 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 ...
and served for three parliamentary terms, but broke away from the Liberal Party and became an
Independent Liberal
Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...
in 1895. For the , the
Josiah Hanan
Josiah Alfred Hanan (12 May 1868 – 22 March 1954), known to his colleagues as Joe Hanan, was a New Zealand politician, cabinet minister, and legislative councillor. He also served as Mayor of Invercargill, and as Chancellor of the University ...
of the Liberal Party challenged Kelly, with Hanan being successful. Hanan served the electorate until 1925, when he retired.
The was narrowly won by the former Prime Minister Sir
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...
standing for the Liberal Party, who beat
James Hargest
Brigadier James Hargest, (4 September 1891 – 12 August 1944) was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces, serving in both the First and Second World Wars. He was a Member of New Zealand's Parliament from 1931 to 1944, representi ...
of the
Reform Party with 4957 votes to 4798; a third contender, Patrick Hickey, stood for the
Labour Party.
Until 1919, Ward had for many years represented Awarua. Ward, a former leader of the Liberal Party, contested the election under the "Liberal" label, despite the fact that the remnants of the Liberal Party were now calling themselves by different names.
In 1928, Ward helped form the
United Party and won the . He died on 8 July 1930,
which caused the won by his son
Vincent Ward, who retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1931.
Vincent Ward was succeeded by
James Hargest
Brigadier James Hargest, (4 September 1891 – 12 August 1944) was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces, serving in both the First and Second World Wars. He was a Member of New Zealand's Parliament from 1931 to 1944, representi ...
in the . At the end of the parliamentary term in 1935, Hargest successfully contested the Awarua electorate. He was succeeded in the Invercargill electorate by
William Denham
William Mortimer Clarence Denham (August 1888 – 21 September 1969) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life and career
Denham was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in August 1888, and was educated bot ...
of the Labour Party, who held the electorate for three terms from 1935 until his defeat in the by
Ralph Hanan
Josiah Ralph Hanan (13 June 1909 – 24 July 1969), known as Ralph Hanan, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was Mayor of Invercargill and then represented the electorate in Parliament, following in his uncle Josiah Hanan's ...
of the
National Party. Hanan was re-elected seven times and died in office on 24 July 1969; the need to hold a by-election before the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
on 29 November was avoided by a special act, th
By-election Postponement Act 1969
The successful candidate in the 1969 general election was
John Chewings
John Guy Chewings (14 April 1920 – 12 September 1994) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography
Chewings was born in 1920 at Invercargill. He received his education at Waitaki Boys' High School. During World War II, he w ...
, who was defeated at the end of the parliamentary term at the by Labour's
J. B. Munro
John Baldwin Munro (né John Baldwin, 15 August 1936 – 4 June 2018), better known as J. B. Munro, was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. He was also a notable disability advocate.
Early life and educa ...
. At the next
election in 1975, Munro was in turn beaten by National's
Norman Jones. Jones retired at the end of his fourth term in August 1987 and died shortly thereafter on 19 November.
Jones was succeeded by National's
Rob Munro in the . Munro served two parliamentary terms before being beaten by Labour's
Mark Peck in the . Peck retired after four parliamentary terms in 2005 and was succeeded by National's
Eric Roy in the . Roy retired after three parliamentary terms and was succeeded in by
Sarah Dowie
Sarah Maree Dowie (born 1974) is a New Zealand former politician of the National Party. She was the Member of Parliament for Invercargill from 2014 to 2020.
Early life and career
Dowie's parents, Ann and Alan Dowie, were both police officers. ...
.
Members of Parliament
Key
List MPs
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Invercargill electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
Election results
2020 election
2017 election
2014 election
2011 election
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 45,014
2008 election
2005 election
2002 election
1999 election
1996 election
1993 election
1990 election
1987 election
1984 election
1981 election
1978 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
1930 by-election
1928 election
1925 election
1899 election
1896 election
1893 election
1890 election
1878 by-election
1875 election
1873 by-election
1871 election
1866 election
Table footnotes
Notes
References
*
*
{{electorates of New Zealand
New Zealand electorates
Politics of Southland, New Zealand
1865 establishments in New Zealand