Oroua 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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region of New Zealand from 1902 to 1938.

Population centres

The Representation Act 1900 had increased the membership of 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 ...

from general electorates 70 to 76, and this was implemented through the 1902 electoral redistribution. In 1902, changes to the

country quota The country quota was a part of the New Zealand electoral system from 1881 until 1945, when it was abolished by the First Labour Government. Its effect was to make urbanUrban electorate were those that contained cities or boroughs of over 2000 peo ...

affected the three-member electorates in the four main centres. The tolerance between electorates was increased to ±1,250 so that the Representation Commissions (since 1896, there had been separate commissions for the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

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 ...

s) could take greater account of communities of interest. These changes proved very disruptive to existing boundaries, and six electorates were established for the first time, including Oroua, and two electorates that previously existed were re-established. In the , polling booths were in

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has w ...

Halcombe Halcombe is a small settlement in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is situated 13 km north west of Feilding and 4 km east of the Rangitikei River, between State Highway 1 and State Highway 54. Hal ...

, Kimbolton,

Ruahine The Ruahine Range is the largest of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand that form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington. The ridge is at its most pronounced from the cen ...

Pohangina Pohangina is a small rural community in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand, just north of Ashhurst. Pohangina is located along the foot of the Ruahine Range, and is primarily farming land. Farming varies from sheep and cattle to cro ...

Ashhurst Ashhurst ( mi, Whārite) is a town and outlying suburb of Palmerston North, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. Location Ashhurst is sited 14 kilometres northeast of the Palmerston North city centre. The town s ...

, and other places. In the 1907 electoral redistribution, a major change that had to be allowed for was a reduction of the tolerance to ±750 to those electorates where the country quota applied. 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 ...

had once again a higher population growth than the

, and three seats were transferred from south to north. In the resulting boundary distribution, every existing electorate was affected, and some were abolished, including the Oroua electorate. These changes took effect with the .

History

The electorate was first created for the 1902 election.

Frank Lethbridge Frank Yates Lethbridge (22 May 1852 – 26 January 1915) was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He represented the Rangitikei electorate from 1896 to 1902, and then the Oroua electorate from 1902 Ev ...

won the 1902 election against Arthur Henry Tompkins. Lethbridge had since the represented the Rangitikei electorate. When he retired in ,

David Guthrie David Guthrie may refer to: * David Guthrie (New Zealand politician) (1856–1927) * Sir David Guthrie (lord treasurer) (fl. 1457–1479), lord treasurer of Scotland in 1461 * David Guthrie (British politician) (1861–1918) See also

* {{hndi ...

became the next representative. Guthrie joined the Reform Party when it formed in 1909 and held the Oroua electorate until he retired in 1925.

John Gordon Eliott John Gordon Eliott (24 January 1872 – 16 May 1948) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was elected to the Oroua electorate in the 1925 general election, but was defeated in 1928. He had four children, one was a ...

of the Reform Party succeeded Guthrie in the and represented Oroua for one parliamentary term, as he was defeated by

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 Du ...

of the United Party in the . Cobbe became part of the National Party when the United and Reform Parties amalgamated in 1936. Cobbe held the electorate until it was abolished in 1938, and then continued to represent the electorate.

Election results

The electorate was represented by four

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

1935 election

1928 election

Notes

References

* * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui 1902 establishments in New Zealand 1938 disestablishments in New Zealand