Pahiatua is a former 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 The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

region. It existed from 1896 to 1996, and 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 ...

, including Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

for 34 years.

Population centres

In the 1896 electoral redistribution, 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. Four electorates that previously existed were re-established, and three electorates were established for the first time, including Pahiatua. The original area of the Pahiatua electorate included the towns of

Pahiatua , image_skyline = Market day pahiatua 1st dec 2007 1.JPG , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shi ...

and Woodville. Over time, the electorate shifted slightly north, until the town of Dannevirke was covered following the 1918 electoral redistribution. The 1946 electoral redistribution took 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 ...

into account, and as a rural electorate, the area covered by the Pahiatua electorate increased significantly. The electorate to the south was abolished, and its area distributed to the and Pahiatua electorate. Eketahuna and

Castlepoint Castlepoint is a small beachside settlement on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is home to a lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef. The reef is about one kilometre long. At the south ...

were gained by the electorate in that process.

History

The Pahiatua electorate existed from 1896 to 1996. Early holders of the seat were John O'Meara from 1896 to 1904, Bill Hawkins from 1904 to 1905, Robert Beatson Ross from 1905 to 1911, James Escott from 1911 to 1916, Harold Smith from 1916 to 1919, Archibald McNicol from 1919 to 1922, and

Alfred Ransom Sir Ethelbert Alfred Ransom (19 March 1868 – 22 May 1943) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, then its successor the United Party, and from 1936, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1935 in the United ...

from 1922 to 1943. The seat was held by Prime Minister

for 34 years, until he resigned to become Governor-General. In 1996

John Falloon John Howard Falloon (17 February 1942 – 4 October 2005) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1977 to 1996, representing the National Party in the Pahiatua electorate. Early life and family Falloon was born in Masterton on 17 Fe ...

, who had been the MP for Pahiatua for 19 years, chose to retire.

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1977 by-election

1975 election

1972 election

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1943 election

1928 election

1916 by-election

1904 by-election

1899 election

1896 election

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pahiatua (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui 1896 establishments in New Zealand 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand