21st New Zealand Parliament

Term of the Parliament of New Zealand

21st Parliament of New Zealand

| <-| 20th Parliament | 22nd Parliament| ->

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Parliament House, Wellington

Overview
Legislative body| New Zealand Parliament
Term| 7 February 1923 – 1 October 1925
Election| 1922 New Zealand general election
Government| Reform Government
House of Representatives

Members| 80
Speaker of the House| Charles Statham
Prime Minister| Gordon Coates from 30 May 1925
— William Massey until 14 May 1925 †
Leader of the Opposition| George Forbes
— Thomas Wilford until 13 August 1925
Legislative Council
Members| 38
Speaker of the Council| Sir Walter Carncross
Leader of the Council| Sir Francis Bell
also as Prime Minister
14–30 May 1925
Sovereign
Monarch| HM George V
Governor-General| HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson

The 21st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1922 general election in December of that year.

## 1922 general election[edit]

Main article: 1922 New Zealand general election

The 1922 general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 45 represented North Island electorates, 31 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 700,111 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 88.7%.[1]

## Sessions[edit]

The 21st Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1923), and was prorogued on 14 October 1925.[3]

Session | Opened | Adjourned

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first | 7 February 1923 | 17 February 1923
second | 14 June 1923 | 29 August 1923
third | 26 June 1924 | 6 November 1924
fourth | 25 June 1925 | 1 October 1925

## Party standings[edit]

### Start of Parliament[edit]

[4]

Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start

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| Reform Party | William Massey | 37
| Liberal Party | Thomas Wilford | 22
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17
| Independents | 4

### End of Parliament[edit]

Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end

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| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 37
| Liberal Party | George Forbes | 22
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17
| Independents | 4

## Ministries[edit]

The second Massey Ministry led by William Massey of the Reform Party had come to power in August 1919.[5] Massey ruled until his death on 10 May 1925.[6] Francis Bell had been acting Prime Minister during Massey's illness and took on the temporary leadership following Massey's death.[7] Bell led the Bell Ministry from 14 to 30 May 1925, when the Reform Party elected Gordon Coates as its leader.[8] The Coates Ministry was in place for the remainder of the parliamentary term and for the duration of the 22nd Parliament.[9]

Reform had a narrow margin of three votes in the house if Liberal and Labour combined as they did when the house resumed in February 1923 (but Bell, Witty and Isitt voted with Massey). Hence the Government could not introduce any controversial legislation, and Massey said it was "hell most of the time". [10]

## Initial composition of the 21st Parliament[edit]

The results of the 1922 election were as follows:

Key

Reform Liberal Labour Independent Liberal Independent

Electorate results for the 1922 New Zealand general election[11][12][13] Electorate  | Incumbent  | Winner  | Majority  | Runner up

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General electorates
Ashburton |  | William Nosworthy | 1,482[14] |  | Henry Manwell Jones
Avon |  | Dan Sullivan | 2,036  |  | George Warren Russell
Awarua |  | John Hamilton |  | Philip De La Perrelle | 51[15] |  | John Hamilton
Auckland Central |  | Bill Parry | 1,003  |  | Albert Glover
Auckland East |  | Clutha Mackenzie |  | John A. Lee | 751  |  | Clutha Mackenzie
Auckland West |  | Michael Joseph Savage | 1,349  |  | John Farrell
Bay of Islands |  | Vernon Reed |  | Allen Bell | 188  |  | Vernon Reed
Bay of Plenty |  | Kenneth Williams | Uncontested
Buller |  | Harry Holland | 1,541[14] |  | John Menzies
Chalmers |  | James Dickson | 679  |  | Joseph Stephens[16]
Christchurch East |  | Henry Thacker |  | Tim Armstrong | 1,094  |  | Henry Thacker
Christchurch North |  | Leonard Isitt | 1,950  |  | John Archer
Christchurch South |  | Ted Howard | 3,140  |  | H C Lane
Clutha |  | Alexander Malcolm |  | John Edie | 120  |  | Alexander Malcolm
Dunedin Central |  | Charles Statham | 723  |  | John Gilchrist
Dunedin North |  | Jim Munro | 55  |  | James Clark
Dunedin West |  | Thomas Sidey | 1,281  |  | John McManus
Dunedin South |  | William Downie Stewart | 1,727  |  | C M Moss
Eden |  | James Parr | 675  |  | Rex Mason
Egmont |  | Oswald Hawken | 372  |  | D L A Astbury
Ellesmere |  | Heaton Rhodes | 732  |  | J C Free
Franklin |  | William Massey | 2,750  |  | Joseph Rea
Grey Lynn |  | Fred Bartram | 1,407  |  | William John Holdsworth
Gisborne |  | Douglas Lysnar | 500[14] |  | George Wildish[17]
Hamilton | New electorate  |  | Alexander Young | 2,043  |  | Arthur Shapton Richards
Hawke's Bay |  | Hugh Campbell |  | Gilbert McKay | 317  |  | Andrew Hamilton Russell[18]
Hurunui |  | George Forbes | 1,198  |  | S Andrew
Hutt |  | Thomas Wilford | 802[14] |  | David Pritchard
Invercargill |  | Josiah Hanan | 993  |  | J Armstead
Kaipara |  | Gordon Coates | 2,464  |  | Robert Hornblow
Kaiapoi |  | David Jones |  | David Buddo | 65[19] |  | David Jones
Lyttelton |  | James McCombs | 614  |  | Robert Macartney
Manawatu |  | Edward Newman |  | Joseph Linklater | 1,505  |  | F D Whibley
Manukau |  | Frederic Lang |  | Bill Jordan | 209  |  | Frederic Lang
Marsden |  | Francis Mander |  | Alfred Murdoch | 136  |  | William Jones
Masterton |  | George Sykes | 556[14] |  | A. C. Holmes
Mataura |  | George Anderson | 1,041  |  | David McDougall
Motueka |  | Richard Hudson | 538  |  | R Patterson
Napier |  | Vigor Brown |  | Lew McIlvride | 763  |  | John Mason
Oamaru |  | Ernest Lee |  | John MacPherson | 14  |  | Ernest Lee
Ohinemuri |  | Hugh Poland | 939  |  | Stephen Allen
Oroua |  | David Guthrie | 43  |  | John Cobbe
Nelson |  | Harry Atmore | 2,164[14] |  | Albert Gilbert
Otaki |  | William Hughes Field | 58[14] |  | G. H. M. McClure
Pahiatua |  | Archibald McNicol |  | Alfred Ransom | 59  |  | Archibald McNicol
Palmerston |  | Jimmy Nash | 1,067  |  | Joe Hodgens
Parnell |  | James Samuel Dickson | 2,324  |  | S M Wren
Patea |  | Edwin Dixon |  | James Randall Corrigan | 151  |  | Edwin Dixon
Raglan |  | Richard Bollard | 776  |  | S C G Lye
Rangitikei |  | Billy Glenn | 1,007  |  | F P Brady
Riccarton |  | George Witty | 235  |  | Bert Kyle
Roskill |  | Vivian Potter | 2,007  |  | Alfred Hall-Skelton[20]
Rotorua |  | Frank Hockly | 404  |  | Cecil Clinkard
Stratford |  | Robert Masters | 363  |  | John Hine
Taranaki |  | Sydney George Smith | 134  |  | Charles Bellringer
Tauranga |  | William Herries | 1,440[21] |  | Laurence Johnstone
Temuka |  | Thomas Burnett | 407  |  | Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames |  | Thomas William Rhodes | 790  |  | W A Allan
Timaru |  | James Craigie |  | Frank Rolleston | 288[14] |  | Percy Vinnell
Waikato |  | Alexander Young |  | Frederick Lye | 44  |  | J T Johnson
Waimarino |  | Robert William Smith |  | Frank Langstone | 887  |  | Robert William Smith
Waipawa |  | George Hunter | 1,076  |  | John Joshua Langridge
Wairarapa |  | Alex McLeod | 698  |  | John Wiltshire Card
Waitemata |  | Alexander Harris | 1,271  |  | Frank Henry Burbush[20]
Wairau |  | Richard McCallum |  | William Girling | 186  |  | Richard McCallum
Waitaki |  | John Bitchener |  |  | William Paul
Waitomo |  | William Thomas Jennings |  | John Rolleston | 25  |  | William Thomas Jennings
Wakatipu |  | James Horn | 1,637  |  | J Ritchie
Wallace |  | Adam Hamilton |  | John Charles Thomson | 205  |  | Adam Hamilton
Wanganui |  | Bill Veitch | 1,072  |  | John Coull
Wellington Central |  | Peter Fraser | 4,202  |  | William Bennett
Wellington North |  | John Luke | 375  |  | Harry Combs
Wellington East |  | Alfred Newman |  | Alec Monteith | 473  |  | Thomas Forsyth
Wellington South |  | George Mitchell |  | Robert McKeen | 422  |  | George Mitchell
Wellington Suburbs |  | Robert Wright | 291  |  | Alexander Croskery
Westland |  | Tom Seddon |  | James O'Brien | 487  |  | Tom Seddon
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori |  | Āpirana Ngata | 1,501  |  | Taranaki Kanara te Uamairangi
Northern Maori |  | Taurekareka Henare | 1,441  |  | Nau Parone Kawiti
Southern Maori |  | Henare Uru | 87  |  | Peter MacDonald
Western Maori |  | Māui Pōmare | 798  |  | Ngarangi Katitia

## By-elections during 21st Parliament[edit]

There were a number of changes during the term of the 21st Parliament.

Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner

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Tauranga | 1923 | 28 March  |  | William Herries | Death  |  | Charles MacMillan
Oamaru | 1923 | 1 May  |  | John MacPherson | Election declared void[22] |  | John Macpherson
Franklin | 1925 | 17 June  |  | William Massey | Death  |  | Ewen McLennan

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ a b "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
2. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
3. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
4. ^ "1890–1993 general elections | Elections". elections.nz. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
5. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 44–45.
6. ^ Massey, William Ferguson - Biography
7. ^ Gardner, William James. "Bell, Francis Henry Dillon 1851–1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
8. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 46.
9. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 46–47.
10. ^ Bassett 1982, p. 32-33.
11. ^ The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
12. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 83f.
13. ^ Hislop 1923, pp. 1–6.
14. ^ a b c d e f g h "Official Counts". The Evening Post. Vol. CIV, no. 144\. 15 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
15. ^ "Awarua". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. XLII. 14 December 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
16. ^ "Labour's Candidates". Maoriland Worker. Vol. 12, no. 299\. 22 November 1922. p. 12. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
17. ^ "Women Take Part". The Evening Post. Vol. CXX, no. 107\. 1 November 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
18. ^ Pugsley, Chris. "Russell, Andrew Hamilton". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
19. ^ "The Official Count". Auckland Star. Vol. LIII, no. 295\. 13 December 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
20. ^ a b "Electoral". Auckland Star. Vol. LIII, no. 296\. 14 December 1922. p. 16. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
21. ^ "The Final Counts". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18276\. 18 December 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
22. ^ "Result of Oamaru Petition". The Evening Post. 31 March 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 15 August 2011.

## References[edit]

* Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
* Hislop, J. (1923). The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
* McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
* Scholefield (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.