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

in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand that existed during three periods between 1871 and 1996.

Population centres

The 1870 electoral redistribution was undertaken by a

parliamentary select committee A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Select committees exist in the British Parliam ...

based on population data from the

1867 New Zealand census The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings ( mi, Te Tatauranga o ngā Tāngata Huri Noa i Aotearoa me ō rātou Whare Noho) is a national population and housing census conducted by government department Statistics New Zealand every five y ...

. Eight sub-committees were formed, with two members each making decisions for their own

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

; thus members set their own electorate boundaries. The number of electorates was increased from 61 to 72, and Manawatu was one of the new electorates.

History

The electorate existed during three periods: from 1871 to 1890, 1896 to 1911, and 1919 to 1996. The first representative was

Walter Woods Johnston Walter Woods Johnston (10 August 1839 – 31 August 1907) was a prominent merchant in 19th-century Wellington, a Member of Parliament for the Manawatu region of New Zealand and a Minister of the Crown. Family and immigration Johnston was born ...

, who was elected at the 1871 general election. He won the three subsequent general elections, and retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1884. In the 1876 election, Johnston was challenged by the lawyer, naturalist and ornithologist Walter Buller. The contest was close and Buller had a small majority in the district of two votes, but the voters from Wellington who were eligible to vote in the Manawatu and who made the arduous journey (the route was affected by recent flooding) to the nearest polling booth in Paikakariki gave Johnston the advantage. Johnston was succeeded by

Douglas Hastings Macarthur Douglas Hastings Macarthur (1839 – 24 May 1892) was a 19th-century independent conservative Member of Parliament in the Manawatu region of New Zealand. He represented the Manawatu electorate from 1884 to 1890, and then the Rangitikei e ...

in the 1884 general election. Macarthur held the electorate for two terms until 1890, when it was abolished. He successfully contested Rangitikei in the 1890 general election. The electorate was recreated for the 1896 general election, when John Stevens got elected for 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 ...

. He represented it until the 1902 general election, when he was defeated by Job Vile. Vile lost the electorate again at the 1905 general election to Stevens, who held it until 1908. In the 1908 general election, Stevens was defeated by the conservative politician Edward Newman in a second ballot. The electorate was abolished in 1911. The electorate was recreated in for the 1919 general election, when John Stevens was once again successful. He held the electorate for one term. He was succeeded by Joseph Linklater in the 1922 general election. Linklater held the electorate for four parliamentary terms until 1935. In the 1935 general election, he was defeated by Labour's

Lorrie Hunter Clifford Lorrie Hunter (11 May 1900 – 1 July 1990) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Early life and family Hunter was born at Waimea West on 11 May 1900, the son of Gordon MacKay Hunter and Edith Constance Hunter (née An ...

, who held the electorate for one term. Hunter lost the electorate in the 1938 general election to

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

John Cobbe John George Cobbe (1859 – 29 December 1944) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, United Party and the National Party. Early life Cobbe was born in King's County, Ireland, in 1859. He received his education in Tullamore and D ...

, who retired in 1943. He was succeeded by Matthew Oram until 1957.

Members of Parliament

Manawatu was represented by 16

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

Election results

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

1899 election

Notes

References

* * * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui 1870 establishments in New Zealand 1890 disestablishments in New Zealand 1911 disestablishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand 1896 establishments in New Zealand 1919 establishments in New Zealand Manawatu District