Taranaki (New Zealand electorate)

Taranaki was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed for three periods between 1881 and 1996. It was represented by nine Members of Parliament.

Population centres

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–76 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 Taranaki, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.

The original area included the townships of Ohura, Waitara, and Inglewood. The Mokau River was used as the northern boundary. In the 1887 electoral redistribution, the northern boundary moved north, most of it as yet unsurveyed land. The settlements of Mokau and Awakino were included in the newly gained area to the north, and Stratford was gained in the south.

In the 1896 electoral redistribution, rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Four electorates that previously existed were re-established, including Taranaki, and three electorates were established for the first time. The New Plymouth electorate was abolished, the Egmont electorate shifted north, and the Patea electorate shifted east. This made room for the Hawera and Taranaki electorates.

History

The electorate existed from 1881 to 1890, from 1896 to 1928, and from 1978 (replacing Stratford) to 1996. In 1996 it was combined with the adjacent King Country to form the Taranaki-King Country electorate.

The first representative was Robert Trimble from 1881 to 1887, who had earlier represented Grey and Bell. The second representative was George Marchant.

Members of Parliament

Taranaki was represented by nine Members of Parliament.

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Reform  

  Independent Labour     Liberal-Labour     National  

Election	Winner
1881 election		Robert Trimble
1884 election
1887 election		George Marchant
(Electorate abolished 1890–1896)
1896 election		Henry Brown
1899 election		Edward Smith
1902 election
1905 election
1907 by-election		Henry Okey
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election		Sydney Smith
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election		Charles Bellringer
(Electorate abolished 1928–1978)
1978 election		David Thomson
1981 election
1984 election		Roger Maxwell
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished 1996)

Election results

1925 election

General election, 1925: Taranaki

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	Charles Bellringer	4,615	46.28
	United	Sydney George Smith	4,565	45.78
	Labour	William Sheat	792	7.94
Majority			50	0.50
Informal votes			56	0.56
Turnout			10,028	92.79
Registered electors			10,807

1918 by-election

Taranaki by-election, 1918

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	Sydney George Smith	2,840	51.44
	Reform	John Connett	2,680	48.55
Majority			160	2.89
Turnout			5,520	74.19	-12.62

1907 by-election

Taranaki by-election, 1907

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Henry Okey	1,991	43.02
	Liberal	Edward Dockrill	1,627	35.16
	Independent Liberal	William Malone	1,010	21.82
Majority			364	7.87
Informal votes			23	0.50
Turnout			4,651	74.96
Registered electors			6,205

1899 election

General election, 1899: Taranaki

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Metcalf Smith	2,405	51.36	+7.03
	Opposition	Henry Brown	2,278	48.64	+1.91
Majority			127	2.71	+0.30
Turnout			4,683	82.46	+5.88
Registered electors			5,679