Waimate (New Zealand electorate)

Former electorate in Canterbury, New Zealand

Waimate was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand from 1881 to 1893 and from 1946 to 1957. It was represented by three 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 Waimate, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.[1] The area for the electorate was in its entirety from the Gladstone electorate, which continued to exist with a much reduced geographic size.[2] The southern boundary of the electorate was the Waitaki River, and the electorate was centred on the town of Waimate.[3]

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, the electorate shifted north and became much smaller. It now shared a boundary with the Timaru electorate. The Representation Act 1887 wrote the country quota into legislation and the Waimate electorate was classed as 100% rural (i.e. Waimate Borough had a population of less than 2,000 people at that time).[4]

The 1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The North Island gained a further two electorates from the South Island due to faster population growth. The abolition of the country quota through the Electoral Amendment Act, 1945 reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, 19 electorates were created for the first time, and eight former electorates were re-established, including Waimate.[5]

After years of political tension, the National Government came to an agreement with the Labour Party on the redistribution provisions of the electoral law. This resulted in the 1956 Electoral Act, which significantly changed the composition of the Representation Commission; since then, there has been one member representing the government, and one the opposition, apart from all the official members. Tolerance to the electoral quota was reduced again to 5%. The 1957 electoral redistribution made an adjustments in the number of electorates between the South and North Islands, with Waimate in the South Island abolished and Piako in the North Island reconstituted. Combined with significant population redistributions within the islands, the boundaries of all but two electorates were altered.[6] These changes took effect with the 1957 election.[7]

## History[edit]

Waimate existed from 1881 to 1893 and from 1946 to 1957.[8]

### Members of Parliament[edit]

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

Key

Independent Liberal National

Election  | Winner

|

1881 election |  | William Steward
1884 election
1887 election
1890 election |
electorate abolished 1893-1946
1946 election |  | David Kidd
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election |  | Alfred Davey
(Electorate abolished 1957; see Timaru)

## Election results[edit]

### 1954 election[edit]

1954 general election: Waimate[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | Alfred Davey | 6,576  | 49.85  |
| Labour | Neville Pickering | 4,238  | 32.13  |
| Social Credit | Maurice Hayes  | 2,375  | 18.00  | +15.34
Majority  | 1,438  | 10.90  |
Turnout | 13,189  | 99.48  | +7.46
Registered electors | 13,257  |  |

### 1951 election[edit]

1951 general election: Waimate[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | David Kidd | 7,526  | 53.58  | +2.24
| Labour | A G Braddick  | 5,024  | 35.77  |
| Ind. Social Credit | Maurice Hayes  | 374  | 2.66  | +1.03
Majority  | 2,232  | 15.89  | +2.61
Turnout | 12,924  | 92.02  | +2.71
Registered electors | 14,044  |  |

### 1949 election[edit]

1949 general election: Waimate[11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | David Kidd | 7,426  | 55.82  | +2.80
| Labour | William Roy Davison  | 5,659  | 42.54  | -4.43
| Independent | Maurice Hayes  | 217  | 1.63  |
Majority  | 1,767  | 13.28  | +7.42
Turnout | 13,302  | 94.73  | -0.01
Registered electors | 14,041  |  |

### 1946 election[edit]

1946 general election: Waimate[12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | David Kidd | 6,922  | 53.02  |
| Labour | William Roy Davison  | 6,133  | 46.97  |
Majority  | 789  | 6.04  |
Turnout | 13,055  | 94.74  |
Registered electors | 13,779  |  |

### 1890 election[edit]

1890 general election: Waimate[13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | William Steward | 747  | 62.35  |
| Independent | Alpheus Hayes  | 451  | 37.65  |
Majority  | 296  | 24.71  |
Turnout | 1,198  | 44.47  |
Registered electors | 2,694  |  |

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 43–48.
2. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 45, 49.
3. ^ McRobie 1989, p. 49.
4. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 51–53.
5. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 91–96.
6. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 103f.
7. ^ McRobie 1989, p. 103.
8. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 274.
9. ^ Norton 1988, p. 370.
10. ^ "The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1951–52". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
11. ^ "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
12. ^ "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
13. ^ "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

## 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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