Waitomo (New Zealand electorate)

Waitomo was a parliamentary electorate in the Waikato region and the King Country of New Zealand, from 1919 to 1972. The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament.

Population centres

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In the 1918 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained a further three electorates from the South Island due to faster population growth. Only two existing electorates were unaltered, five electorates were abolished, two former electorate were re-established, and three electorates, including Waitomo, were created for the first time.[1] The Taumarunui electorate was abolished through the 1918 electoral redistribution, and the vast majority of the Waitomo electorate's area had previously been in the Taumarunui electorate.[2] Settlements that fell within the initial area of the Waitomo electorate were Ōtorohanga, Te Kūiti, Ōhura, Awakino, Mōkau, and Waitara.[3]

History

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The Waitomo electorate was first established for the 1919 election.[4] The first representative was William Thomas Jennings of the Liberal Party.[4] John Rolleston of the Reform Party defeated the incumbent by 3447 to 3441 votes, a majority of only six votes.[5] Rolleston in turn was defeated in 1928 by Walter Broadfoot of the United Party.[6] Broadfoot joined the National Party in 1936 when it formed through the amalgamation of the United and Reform Parties.[6] He remained the electorate's representative until the 1954 election, when he retired.[6]

Broadfoot was succeeded by David Seath of the National Party, who represented the electorate until the 1972 election, when he retired.[7] In the same year, the Waitomo electorate was abolished.[4]

Members of Parliament

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The Waitomo electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament:[8]

Key

  Liberal   Reform   United   National
Election Winner
1919 election William Thomas Jennings
1922 election John Rolleston
1925 election
1928 election Walter Broadfoot
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election David Seath
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election
(Electorate abolished 1972; see King Country)

Election results

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1935 election

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1935 general election: Waitomo[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
United Walter Broadfoot 4,521 45.86
Labour Jack Jones 2,995 30.38
Country Party J H Penniket 2,341 23.74
Informal votes 65 0.65
Majority 1,526 15.49
Turnout 9,857 91.08
Registered electors 10,822

1928 election

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1928 general election: Waitomo[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
United Walter Broadfoot 3,797 48.99
Reform John Rolleston 3,265 42.13
Labour Charles Croall 688 8.88
Majority 532 6.86
Informal votes 52 0.67
Turnout 7,802 87.28
Registered electors 8,939

Notes

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  1. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
  2. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 74, 78.
  3. ^ McRobie 1989, p. 78.
  4. ^ a b c Wilson 1985.
  5. ^ "Official Counts". The Evening Post. Vol. CIV, no. 146. 18 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Wilson 1985, p. 185.
  7. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 233.
  8. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 275.
  9. ^ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  10. ^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 5. Retrieved 27 February 2020.

References

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  • McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.