Hastings 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

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

of New Zealand from 1946 to 1996. The electorate was represented by nine

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 ...

. The Hastings electorate was a typical bellwether electorate, frequently changing between the two main parties.

Population centres

The

1941 New Zealand census The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings ( mi, Te Tatauranga o ngā Tāngata Huri Noa i Aotearoa me ō rātou Whare Noho) is a national population and housing census conducted by government department Statistics New Zealand every five y ...

had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. 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 two electorates 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. The abolition of 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 pe ...

through the ''Electoral Amendment Act, 1945'' reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, eight former electorates were re-established, and 19 electorates were created for the first time, including Hastings. The towns of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

and

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

have always been located within the electorate until the 1987 electoral redistribution, whereas the nearby Fernhill was always included in the adjacent electorate.Note that the source was printed in 1989; Havelock North may or may not have fallen within the electorate following subsequent electoral redistributions.

History

The first representative was

Ted Cullen Edward Luttrell Cullen (5 September 1895 – 18 February 1963) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, and a cabinet minister in the First Labour Government. Biography Early life Cullen was born in Havelock North, and educated at N ...

of the Labour Party. At the , Cullen was defeated by

Sydney Jones Sydney Ionoval Jones (23 May 1894 – 28 April 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Early life Jones was born in 1894 at Makotoku, a locality some south of Napier in the Waipawa district. He received his education from ...

of the National Party. After two electoral terms, Jones was in turn defeated by Labour's

Ted Keating Edwin Joseph Keating (29 October 1910 – 22 October 1987) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, academic and director of the Bank of New Zealand. Biography Early life and career Keating was born in Aldershot, England, ...

, who served until his defeat in 1960. Subsequent office holders were Duncan MacIntyre (1960-1972),

Richard Mayson Charles Richard Mayson (born 13 October 1941), generally known as Richard Mayson, is a former New Zealand politician of the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. Biography Mayson was born in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson in 1941, the son of ...

(1972-1975),

Bob Fenton William Robert Fenton (9 October 1923 – 10 January 2013), known as Bob Fenton, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Fenton was born on 9 October 1923 at Napier, and was educated at Hastings High School. He served ...

(1975-1978),

David Butcher David John Butcher (born 19 September 1948) is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a Cabinet minister in the Fourth Labour Government. Early life and family Butcher was born in Brighton, England, on 19 September 1948, ...

(1978-1990), Jeff Whittaker (1990-1993), and

Rick Barker Richard John Barker (born 27 October 1951) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was a middle-ranking Cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. Biography Early life and career Barker was bo ...

(1993-1996).

Members of Parliament

The Hastings electorate was represented by nine Members of Parliament: Key

Election results

1993 election

1990 election

1987 election

1984 election

1981 election

1978 election

1975 election

1972 election

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of the Hawke's Bay Region 1946 establishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand