Motueka and Massacre Bay was one of the original 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 ...

s created for the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

. It existed from 1853 to 1860 and was represented by three

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 ...

. In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the area was split in half, and the and electorates were created from it.

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. Motueka and Massacre Bay was one of the initial single-member electorates. For the , there were 94 registered electors. For the next general election held in , there were 206 registered voters. Settlements within the electorate were

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding dis ...

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 runs through Takaka and follows the river valley b ...

, and Collingwood. The modern name of Massacre Bay is

Golden Bay Golden Bay may refer to: * Golden Bay / Mohua, a bay at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island * Golden Bay (Malta), a bay and beach on the coastline of Malta * Golden Bay High School, a high school in Takaka, New Zealand * Golden Bay, Wes ...

. In the 1860 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 representatives by 12, reflecting the immense population growth since the original electorates were established in 1853. The redistribution created 15 additional electorates with between one and three members. The Motueka and Massacre Bay electorate was split up, and about half the area went to the electorate, and the other half went to the electorate.

History

During the 1st and

2nd New Zealand Parliament The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament, Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 New Zealand general election, 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in prep ...

, Motueka and Massacre Bay was represented by three Members of Parliament:

Alfred Christopher Picard Alfred Christopher Picard (24 May 1824 – 17 September 1855) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Picard was born in London in 1824. He arrived in New Zealand in 1848 with the ''Ajax'' and first settled in Nelson. By 1853, he was living ...

1853–55, Charles Parker 1855–56, and

Herbert Curtis Herbert Evelyn Curtis (1818–1890) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Nelson, New Zealand. He represented the Motueka and Massacre Bay electorate from to 1860, then the Motueka electorate from 1861 Statistically, this year is ...

1856–60. Picard died on 17 September 1855, only two days after the dissolution of the 1st Parliament. The was contested by Edward Dodson Salisbury and Charles Parker, with Parker being successful. On nomination day, David Jennings was also nominated but he withdrew prior to the election.

Members

Key

Election results

1855 election

1853 election

Notes

References

* * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of the Tasman District 1853 establishments in New Zealand 1860 disestablishments in New Zealand