Buller (New Zealand electorate)

Buller is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1871 to 1972. It was represented by eleven Members of Parliament.

Population centres

The 1870 electoral redistribution was undertaken by a parliamentary select committee based on population data from the 1867 census. Eight sub-committees were formed, with two members each making decisions for their own province; thus members set their own electorate boundaries. The number of electorates was increased from 61 to 72, and Buller was one of the new electorates.^[1] The Buller electorate was created from areas that previously belonged to the Waimea and Westland electorates.^[2] Settlements located in the initial electorate area were Westport, Inangahua, and Reefton.^[3]

History

The electorate's first representative was Eugene O'Conor, who was successful in the 1871 election, but he was defeated at the next election in 1876 by Joseph Henry.^[4] Henry in turn was defeated by James Bickerton Fisher^[5] at the 1879 election.^[6] Fisher retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1881.^[7]

Fisher was succeeded by John Munro, who won the 1881 election.^[8] Munro was defeated at the next election in 1884 by Eugene O'Conor, who thus started his second period of representation.^[9] O'Conor, who joined the Liberal Party, was beaten in 1893 election by Roderick McKenzie.^[10] In the 1896 election, McKenzie successfully stood in the Motueka electorate.^[11]

Patrick O'Regan won the 1896 election in the Buller electorate.^[12] At the 1899 election, he was defeated by James Colvin, who held the electorate until his death in 1919.^[13]

From 1919 the Buller electorate was represented by two radical trade unionists from the coal mines of the West Coast, Harry Holland and Paddy Webb. Harry Holland and then Jerry Skinner died in office.

In 1972, the electorate was split into the West Coast and Tasman electorates.

Members of Parliament

The Buller electorate was represented by eleven MPs:

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Independent Liberal     Labour  

Election results

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1962 by-election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1933 by-election

1931 election

1922 election

1919 election

1914 election

1899 election

1893 election

Notes

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8. 
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. ISBN 0-475-11200-8. 
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.