Wellington Suburbs and Country

Former electorate in Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington Suburbs and Country is a former parliamentary electorate in Wellington, New Zealand, from 1911 to 1919. The electorate was combined from Wellington Suburbs and Wellington Country electorates.

## Population centres

[edit]

In the 1911 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained a further seat from the South Island due to faster population growth. In addition, there were substantial population movements within each island, and significant changes resulted from this. Only four electorates were unaltered, five electorates were abolished, one former electorate was re-established, and four electorates, including Wellington Suburbs and Country, were created for the first time.[1]

Through the 1911 electoral redistribution, the Wellington North and Wellington East electorates gained small but relatively populous areas from the Wellington Suburbs electorate, which was abolished. The vast majority of the latter's area went to the new Wellington Suburbs and Country, but large areas were also gained from the Otaki and Hutt electorates. Settlements that had been covered by the Wellington Suburbs electorate include Miramar Peninsula, Mākara, Mākara Beach, Johnsonville, Ohariu Valley, and Tawa. All these were also included in the Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate, and settlements that were gained included Haywards (from the Hutt electorate), and Judgeford, Pāuatahanui, Titahi Bay, and Pukerua Bay (all from the Otaki electorate).[1]

The Wellington Suburbs electorate had gone "dry" in 1909 after the 1908 election, so the new electorate was also "dry". This and the transfer to an electorate with which they had "no community of interest whatever" led to objections to the transfer from the Pāuatahanui area to their former Otaki MP William Field ("a man interested in farming") and to the Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward, to no avail. The area had five hotels serving the Cobb & Co coaches which went north through the settlement, and their bars were closed.[2]

In the 1918 electoral redistribution, the Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate was abolished again, and its area split between the Wellington Suburbs and the Otaki electorates.[3] These changes became effective with the 1919 election.[4]

## History

[edit]

The Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate was represented by two Members of Parliament.[5]

### Members of Parliament

[edit]

Key

Reform

Election  | Winner

|

1911 election |  | William Henry Dillon Bell[6]
1914 election |  | Robert Wright[7]
(Abolished 1919; see Wellington Suburbs and Otaki)

## Election results

[edit]

### 1914 election

[edit]

1914 general election: Wellington Suburbs and Country[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Reform | Robert Wright | 3,258  | 50.62  |
| United Labour | Frank Moore | 2,256  | 35.05  | −11.30
| Liberal | John Edward Fitzgerald  | 922  | 14.32  | −5.89
Informal votes  | 58  | 0.90  | +0.56
Majority | 1,002  | 15.56  |
Turnout | 6,436  | 81.90  | +4.66
Registered electors | 7,858  |  |

### 1911 election

[edit]

1911 general election: Wellington Suburbs and Country, first ballot[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Reform | William Henry Dillon Bell | 2,431  | 40.48  |
| Labour | Frank Moore | 1,273  | 21.19  |
| Independent Liberal | John Edward Fitzgerald  | 1,214  | 20.21  |
| Liberal | John Luke | 1,032  | 17.18  |
Informal votes  | 55  | 0.91  |
Turnout | 6,005  | 80.79  |
Second ballot result
| Reform | William Henry Dillon Bell | 3,060  | 53.30  | +12.82
| Labour | Frank Moore | 2,661  | 46.35  | +25.16
Informal votes  | 20  | 0.34  | −0.57
Majority | 399  | 6.95  |
Turnout | 5,741  | 77.24  | −3.55
Registered electors | 7,432  |  |

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b McRobie 1989, pp. 71–76.
2. ^ Reilly 2013, p. 86-87.
3. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 74–79.
4. ^ McRobie 1989, p. 79.
5. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 276.
6. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 183.
7. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 247.
8. ^ Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. pp. 1–33. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
9. ^ "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 1–14. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

## References

[edit]

* McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
* Mansfield, F. W. (1912). The General Election, 1911. National Library. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
* Reilly, Helen (2013). Pauatahanui: A local history. Wellington: Pauatahanui Residents Association. ISBN 978-0-473-25439-1.
* Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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