New Plymouth is a 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 was first 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 ...

in 1853 and has existed since, with one 32-year interruption. The electorate was initially called Town of New Plymouth. The electorate is currently held by

Glen Bennett Glen Thomas Bennett is a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party. He was elected the Member of the Parliament for New Plymouth at the 2020 New Zealand general election, defeating the National candidate and incumbent Jonathan Y ...

for Labour, as he defeated National's Jonathan Young in the 2020 general election.

Population centres

In the 1927 electoral redistribution, the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

gained a further electorate from the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

due to faster population growth. Five electorates were abolished, two former electorates, including New Plymouth, were re-established, and three electorates were created for the first time. The electorate includes the following population centres: *

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

(57,600) * Waitara (6,312) *

Ōpunake Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway ...

(1,440) *

Ōakura Ōakura is a small township in New Plymouth District, Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45, 15 kilometres south-west of New Plymouth. Ōkato is 12 km further south-west. The Oakura Rive ...

(1,380) *

Ōkato Ōkato is a small town in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. It is situated about 25 minutes drive around the coast from New Plymouth on State Highway 45. Oakura is 12 km to the north-east, and Warea is 9 km to the south-west. The place of ...

(561)

History

The electorate was originally the Town of New Plymouth from 1853 to 1879. The name of the electorate was changed to New Plymouth from 1879 to 1896. The electorate was abolished in 1896, and was reconstituted under the same name in 1928. Oliver Samuel,

Edward Smith Ed, Eddie, Edgar, Edward, Edwin, and similar, surnamed Smith, may refer to: Military * Edward H. Smith (sailor) (1889–1961), United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer and Arctic explorer * Edward Smith (VC) (1898–1940), English recipien ...

, Thomas Kelly (incumbent) and Charles Brown contested the electorate in the ; Samuel won the contest. The electorate has changed between National and Labour several times, and has been represented by two Christian ministers: Rev

Fred Frost Reverend Frederick Ledger Frost (1887 – 19 July 1957) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Frost was born in Northumberland, England, in 1887 and from the ages of 13 to 24 was a coal-miner in Eng ...

and then Rev

Ernest Aderman Rev. Ernest Philip Aderman (né Adermann; 22 May 1894 – 27 February 1968) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Early life and family Aderman was born in Queensland, Australia, in 1894. He was one of eight children b ...

Members of Parliament

Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at a general election. Key

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the New Plymouth 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): 44,973

2008 election

2005 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

*Social Credit candidate Kenneth "Ken" George Joseph Lattimer failed to lodge his name in time to contest the election.

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

1893 election

1890 election

1869 by-election

Table footnotes

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Electorate Profile
''Parliamentary Library'' {{DEFAULTSORT:New Plymouth (New Zealand Electorate) New Zealand electorates 1853 establishments in New Zealand 1896 disestablishments in New Zealand 1928 establishments in New Zealand Politics of Taranaki