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
editIn 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
editThe 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
editThe Waitomo electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament:[8]
Key
| Liberal | Reform | United | National |
Election results
edit1935 election
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 74, 78.
- ^ McRobie 1989, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Wilson 1985.
- ^ "Official Counts". The Evening Post. Vol. CIV, no. 146. 18 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ a b c Wilson 1985, p. 185.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 233.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 275.
- ^ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 5. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
References
edit- 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.