Dunedin West

Former electorate in Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin West was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Dunedin. It existed for three periods between 1881 and 1996 and was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

## Population centres

[edit]

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–76 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Dunedin West, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.[1]

The 1981 census had shown that the North Island had experienced further population growth, and three additional general seats were created through the 1983 electoral redistribution, bringing the total number of electorates to 95.[2] The South Island had, for the first time, experienced a population loss, but its number of general electorates was fixed at 25 since the 1967 electoral redistribution.[3] More of the South Island population was moving to Christchurch, and two electorates were abolished, while two electorates were recreated (including Dunedin West). In the North Island, six electorates were newly created, three electorates were recreated, and six electorates were abolished.[4]

The electorate was urban, and comprised a number of suburbs in the west of Dunedin.

## History

[edit]

The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1881 to 1890. It was represented by:[5]

* Thomas Dick 1881–84 (defeated)
* William Downie Stewart 1884–90 (retired)

The electorate was recreated, from 1908 to 1946.[5] Stewart's son, also called William Downie Stewart, represented the electorate for the Reform Party from 1914 to 1935, when he was defeated by Labour's Gervan McMillan.[6]

In 1984 the electorate was recreated again,[5] until the introduction of MMP in 1996. Clive Matthewson represented the electorate from 1984 to 1996. He left the New Zealand Labour Party in 1995, and was one of the founders of the United New Zealand party.

### Members of Parliament

[edit]

Dunedin West was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

Key

Independent   Liberal   Reform   Labour   United NZ

Election  | Winner

|

1881 election |  | Thomas Dick
1884 election |  | William Downie Stewart
1887 election
(Electorate abolished 1890–1908, see Dunedin)
1908 election |  | John A. Millar
1911 election
1914 election |  | William Downie Stewart Jr
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election |  | Gervan McMillan
1938 election
1943 election |  | Phil Connolly
(Electorate abolished 1946–1984)
1984 election |  | Clive Matthewson
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election |
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Dunedin South)

## Election results

[edit]

### 1993 election

[edit]

1993 general election: Dunedin West[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Clive Matthewson | 9,924  | 47.55  | −1.21
| National | Ollie Turner  | 5,447  | 26.10  |
| Alliance | Norman Wood  | 4,076  | 19.53  |
| NZ First | Khalid Ibadulla | 923  | 4.42  |
| Christian Heritage | John Streekstra  | 434  | 2.07  |
| Natural Law | Martin Jelley  | 63  | 0.30  |
Majority | 4,477  | 21.45  | +12.76
Turnout | 20,867  | 85.14  | −0.28
Registered electors | 24,508  |  |

### 1990 election

[edit]

1990 general election: Dunedin West[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Clive Matthewson | 9,971  | 48.76  | −9.95
| National | Ian McMeeking  | 8,192  | 40.06  | +3.40
| Green | Robyn McCurdy  | 1,098  | 5.36  |
| NewLabour | Frank Rudkin  | 880  | 4.30  |
| Social Credit | Sheryl Tomilson  | 226  | 1.10  |
| Democrats | John Begley  | 82  | 0.40  |
Majority | 1,779  | 8.69  | −13.35
Turnout | 20,449  | 84.86  | −3.17
Registered electors | 24,097  |  |

### 1987 election

[edit]

1987 general election: Dunedin West[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Clive Matthewson | 12,108  | 58.71  | +9.21
| National | Ian McMeeking  | 7,561  | 36.66  |
| Democrats | M J Mellon  | 812  | 3.93  |
| Wizard Party  | G B Campbell  | 142  | 0.68  |
Majority | 4,547  | 22.04  | −5.43
Turnout | 20,623  | 88.03  | −4.60
Registered electors | 23,426  |  |

### 1984 election

[edit]

1984 general election: Dunedin West[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Clive Matthewson | 10,832  | 49.50  |
| National | Derek Russell  | 4,821  | 22.03  |
| Independent Labour | Brian MacDonell | 3,638  | 16.62  |
| NZ Party | Richard Freeman  | 1,840  | 8.40  |
| Social Credit | David Guise  | 749  | 3.42  |
Majority | 6,011  | 27.47  |
Turnout | 21,880  | 92.63  |
Registered electors | 23,619  |  |

### 1943 election

[edit]

1943 general election: Dunedin West[10][11][12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Phil Connolly | 7,430  | 54.56  |
| National | Alexander Smith Falconer  | 6,092  | 44.73  |
Majority | 1,338  | 9.82  |
Turnout | 13,618  | 88.90  | −3.64
Registered electors | 15,318  |  |

### 1938 election

[edit]

1938 general election: Dunedin West[13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Gervan McMillan | 8,452  | 58.96  | +5.87
| National | Stuart Sidey | 5,813  | 40.55  |
Informal votes  | 69  | 0.48  | +0.09
Majority | 2,369  | 16.52  | +10.34
Turnout | 14,334  | 92.54  | +1.40
Registered electors | 15,488  |  |

### 1935 election

[edit]

1935 general election: Dunedin West[14] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Gervan McMillan | 5,886  | 53.09  |
| Reform | William Downie Stewart Jr | 5,200  | 46.90  | −4.83
Informal votes  | 44  | 0.39  | −0.59
Majority | 686  | 6.18  |
Turnout | 11,086  | 91.14  | +6.22
Registered electors | 12,163  |  |

### 1931 election

[edit]

1931 general election: Dunedin West[15][16] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Reform | William Downie Stewart Jr | 5,016  | 51.73  |
| Labour | John Gilchrist[17] | 4,092  | 42.20  |
| Independent Liberal | John McDonald[18] | 588  | 6.06  |
Informal votes  | 96  | 0.98  |
Majority | 924  | 9.53  |
Turnout | 9,792  | 84.92  |
Registered electors | 11,531  |  |

### 1928 election

[edit]

1928 general election: Dunedin West[19] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Reform | William Downie Stewart Jr | 4,600  | 44.22  |
| United | Cornelius Machin Moss  | 3,323  | 31.94  |
| Labour | Ralph Harrison  | 2,480  | 23.84  |
Majority | 1,277  | 12.28  |
Informal votes  | 113  | 1.07  |
Turnout | 10,516  | 87.18  |
Registered electors | 12,062  |  |

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 43–48.
2. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 123f.
3. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 111, 123.
4. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 119–124.
5. ^ a b c Wilson 1985, p. 262.
6. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 217, 237.
7. ^ Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993. p. 18.
8. ^ Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990. p. 26.
9. ^ a b Norton 1988, pp. 216.
10. ^ "The General Election, 1943". National Library. 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
11. ^ "Results from all Electorates". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 76\. 27 September 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
12. ^ "City Nominations". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 61\. 9 September 1943. p. 9. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
13. ^ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
14. ^ The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1936. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
15. ^ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
16. ^ "Prospects in Otago". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21037\. 23 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
17. ^ "Points from Letters". The Evening Post. Vol. CXVIII, no. 70\. 20 September 1934. p. 10. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
18. ^ "Election notices". Otago Daily Times. No. 21498\. 21 November 1931. p. 15. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
19. ^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 2. Retrieved 18 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.
* Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.

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