Lyttelton 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 The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

. It existed from 1853 to 1890, and again from 1893 to 1996, when it was replaced by the Banks Peninsula electorate.

Population centres

The

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully i ...

, passed by the British government, allowed New Zealand to establish a representative government. The initial 24 New Zealand electorates were defined by Governor

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 ...

in March 1853. Lyttelton was one of the initial single-member electorates. The electorate was in the eastern suburbs of

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 / ...

, New Zealand, and included the port of Lyttelton.

History

The electorate was created in 1853 and existed until 1890. In the 1890 election, the Akaroa electorate covered the town of Lyttelton. The Lyttelton electorate was re-established for the 1893 election and existed until 1996, the first

mixed-member proportional Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...

(MMP) election, when it was included in the Banks Peninsula electorate. The nomination meeting for the first election was held on 15 August 1853 at the Reading Room in Lyttelton. The first election was held two days later on a Wednesday at the Resident Magistrate's Office in Lyttelton, 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 ...

as Resident Magistrate acting as the returning officer. The election was contested by Christopher Edward Dampier, the solicitor of the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...

, and James FitzGerald, who in the previous month had been elected

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

's first

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

. FitzGerald won the election by 55 votes to 45. In the , FitzGerald was returned unopposed. FitzGerald represented the electorate until 1857, when he resigned due to ill health.

Crosbie Ward Crosbie Ward (10 February 1832 – 10 November 1867) was a 19th-century member of parliament in New Zealand. Early life Ward was born in Killinchy in County Down, Ireland, in 1832. His father was Rev. Henry Ward. His paternal grandfather was ...

won the resulting by-election in May 1858. Ward was re-elected unopposed on 25 January 1861. Edward Allen Hargreaves won the 1866 election. He resigned in April 1867. Hargreaves was succeeded by

George Macfarlan George Macfarlan (1837/1838 – 9 October 1868) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament representing the Lyttelton electorate. Professional career Macfarlan was the only son of the Rev. George Macfarlan of Gainford, County Durham. He was educate ...

, who was elected unopposed in a 1 July 1867 by-election. Macfarlan died in office on 9 October 1868.

John Thomas Peacock John Thomas Peacock MLC JP (1827 – 20 October 1905) was a New Zealand businessman, philanthropist and politician. He came to Canterbury in 1844, several years before organised settlement started. Early life Peacock was born in 1827 in the H ...

won the 2 November 1868 by-election. At the , Peacock was re-elected unopposed. He held the seat until April 1873, when was promoted to the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

(the upper house). He resigned from Parliament on 5 April 1873. The resulting

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 ...

on 19 May 1873 was won by his brother in law,

Henry Richard Webb Henry Richard Webb JP FRMS (1829 – 11 February 1901) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He represented Lyttelton in Parliament for 2½ years and was a supporter of education in his later years. Born in Australia, he came to Cant ...

, who beat

Hugh Murray-Aynsley Hugh Percy Murray–Aynsley (8 October 1828 – 22 February 1917) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. Early life Murray-Aynsley was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1828. His father was John Murray-Aynsley (17 ...

. At the 28 December 1875 general election, the Lyttelton electorate was contested by the same two candidates as the 1873 by-election, but this time, Murray-Aynsley was successful. Murray-Aynsley was defeated by

Harry Allwright Harry Allwright (1837 – 18 July 1892) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. A painter and glazier by trade, he came out with his parents and siblings in the '' Cressy'' in 1850, one of the First Four Ships. He took ...

in the 1879 general election held on 4 September.

John Joyce John Joyce or Johnny Joyce may refer to: * John Joyce (New Zealand politician) (1839–1899), New Zealand Member of Parliament (MP) * John Joyce (American politician) (born 1957), United States Representative * John Joye or Joyce, MP * Jack Joyce ...

represented Lyttelton from 1887 to 1890 and from 1893 to 1899. The electorate was held from 1913 by

James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...

for the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and then for Labour; he was succeeded by his wife when he died, and then his son when she also died. The 1925 general election was contested by

Melville Lyons Melville Edwin Lyons (27 February 1889 – 7 May 1955), sometimes called Tiny, was briefly a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand until his election was declared void. A journalist by trade, he became involved in local politics in ...

and the incumbent,

. The original count resulted in a tie of 4,900 votes each. The returning officer gave his casting vote to Lyons and declared him elected. A recount was demanded, and on 3 December 1925, an amended result of 4890 votes for Lyons and 4884 votes for McCombs was determined, with the differences in the counts explained by counting informal votes in a different way. Lyons' election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, McCombs, was restored as the holder of the electorate. The 22nd Parliament had its first sitting on 16 June 1926, hence Lyons had not been sworn in before his election was declared void. The had a close result, with McCombs just 32 votes ahead of the

United–Reform Coalition The United–Reform Coalition, also known as the National Political Federation from 1935, was a coalition between two of the three major parties of New Zealand, the United and Reform parties, from 1931 to 1936. The Coalition formed the Governme ...

candidate, Christchurch civil engineer Frederick Willie Freeman. The seat has been held by National and

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

transferred to the safer (for Labour)

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

seat in 1969, just as his predecessor

Harry Lake Harry Robson Lake (29 September 1911 – 21 February 1967) was a New Zealand politician who served as Minister of Finance for six years in the second National government in the 1960s. He died of a heart attack when only 55 years old. Biograph ...

transferred to the safer (for National)

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated from Y ...

seat in 1960.

Election results

Key Table footnotes:

Election results

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

1935 by-election

1933 by-election

1931 election

1928 election

1925 election

1922 election

1919 election

1914 election

1913 by-election

1911 election

1908 election

1905 election

1902 election

1899 election

1896 election

1893 election

1887 election

1884 election

1881 election

1879 election

1875 election

1873 by-election

1866 election

1853 election

Footnotes

Notes

References

* * * * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed 1853 establishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Christchurch History of Christchurch Lyttelton, New Zealand 1890 disestablishments in New Zealand 1893 establishments in New Zealand