King Country was 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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or c ...

. It existed from 1972 to 1996 and was represented by

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

of the National Party for those 24 years.

Population centres

Since the , the number of electorates in 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 ...

was fixed at 25, with continued faster 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-larges ...

leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. There were 84 electorates for the 1969 election, and the 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87. Together with increased urbanisation in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. In the South Island, three electorates were abolished, and three electorates were newly created. In the North Island, five electorates were abolished, two electorates were recreated, and six electorates were newly created (including King Country). The King Country electorate was formed from area that previously belonged to the and electorates, which were both abolished. The King Country electorate covered a largely rural area with a dispersed population. It has no cities. The largest towns are

Ōtorohanga Ōtorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located south of Hamilton and north of Te Kūiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming district ...

and Te Kuiti.

History

The previous representative of the Waimarino electorate was

Roy Jack Sir Roy Emile Jack (12 January 1914 – 24 December 1977) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a cabinet minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Biography Early life and career Jack was born in New Plymo ...

who transferred to the enlarged electorate in 1972. David Seath had held the Waitomo electorate since and he retired in 1972. This gave

the opportunity to stand in the new King Country electorate when it was formed in 1972, and the area being a traditional stronghold for National, he won the election with ease. Bolger became Prime Minister in 1990 while representing the King Country electorate. The electorate combined with the adjacent rural electorate of

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

in 1996 to form the

Taranaki-King Country Taranaki-King Country electorate boundaries used since the Taranaki-King Country is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Taranaki-King Country ...

electorate for MMP.

Election results

Key

1993 election

1990 election

1987 election

1984 election

1981 election

1978 election

1975 election

1972 election

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King Country (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand 1972 establishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand