Wanganui and Rangitikei is a former parliamentary
electorate that existed from 1853 to 1860. It was represented by two
Members of Parliament.
Population centres
The
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, 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 in March 1853. Wanganui and Rangitikei was one of the initial single-member electorates. The electorate comprised two areas fronting onto the
South Taranaki Bight: the area around the town of
Wanganui, and a larger area further east stretching further inland along the
Rangitikei River Rangitikei may refer to the following in New Zealand:
* Rangitikei River, one of country's longest rivers
* Rangitikei District, a district council in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region
* Rangitīkei (New Zealand electorate), a current general electorate ...
.
The Constitution Act also allowed the
House of Representatives to establish new electorates and make changes to existing electorates, and this was first done through 'The Electoral Districts Act, 1858'. At that time, four new electorates were formed by splitting existing electorates, and the previously unincorporated land in 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 ...
was assigned to various electorates. The Wanganui and Rangitikei electorate gained a large area and for the first time, had boundaries with other electorates: and in the west, along the 39th parallel south, 39th latitude in the north, in the east, and in the south.
In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives 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, and Wanganui and Rangitikei was split into two separate electorates: the electorate and the electorate.
History
The Wanganui and Rangitikei electorate was formed for the . Dr Isaac Featherston was the first representative; he had been elected unopposed. Featherston resigned on 9 August 1855, but this did not cause a by-election, as the next election was to be held later that year anyway.
The next representative was William Fox (politician), William Fox, who was also elected unopposed.
Fox served until the end of the parliamentary term in 1860, when the electorate was abolished. Fox successfully contested the Rangitikei electorate in the 1860–1861 New Zealand general election, 1861 election.
Members
During that time, Wanganui and Rangitikei was represented by two Members of Parliament:
Key
Notes
References
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External links
The Electoral Districts Act, 1858
{{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed
Historical electorates of New Zealand
Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui
1853 establishments in New Zealand
1860 disestablishments in New Zealand