Woodville 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 1887 to 1890.

Population centres

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth 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 ...

required the transfer of three seats 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 ...

to the north. Ten new electorates were created, including Woodville, and one former electorate was recreated. The electorate was based on the town of Woodville. The localities of

Ormondville Ormondville is a locality in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located inland, south of Waipukurau and west of Flemington, Hawke's Bay. Ormondville railway station opened in 1880, but services ended in 2001. ...

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

, and

Norsewood Norsewood is a small rural settlement in the Tararua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is situated east of the Ruahine Mountain range and is located 20 kilometres northeast of Dannevirke. Geography ...

were in the northern part of the electorate.

History

The Woodville electorate in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand was formed for the . The 1887 election was contested by William Cowper Smith, Horace Baker and

William Wilson McCardle William Wilson McCardle JP (1 April 1844 – 4 January 1922) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. Born in Scotland, he came to New Zealand as a young man and lived in a variety of places. He was a nurseryman and advocated for la ...

, who obtained 922, 761, and 452 votes, respectively. Smith was thus declared elected. Smith had since 1881 represented the electorate. After the abolition of the Woodville electorate in 1890, he successfully contested the Waipawa electorate again in the . McCardle had in 1884 unsuccessfully contested the

Wairarapa North Wairarapa North is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1881 to 1887. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European p ...

electorate against

George Beetham George Beetham, F.R.G.S., M.H.R. (1840 – 20 August 1915), known to Māori as Hori Pitama, was a New Zealand politician and alpinist. Beetham was born in 1840 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. His father was the noted portrait painte ...

Members of Parliament

Woodville was represented by one

Member 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

1887 election

Notes

References

* * {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui 1887 establishments in New Zealand 1890 disestablishments in New Zealand