Onehunga (New Zealand electorate)
Onehunga, initially with the formal name of Town of Onehunga, is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the south of the city of Auckland. Between 1861 and 1881, and between 1938 and 1996, it was represented by seven Members of Parliament. It was a stronghold for the Labour Party.
Population centres
In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of representatives by 12, reflecting the immense population growth since the original electorates were established in 1853. The redistribution created 15 additional electorates with between one and three members, and Onehunga was one of the single-member electorates.[1] The electorates were distributed to provinces so that every province had at least two members. Within each province, the number of registered electors by electorate varied greatly.[1]
The 1931 census had been cancelled due to the Great Depression, so the 1937 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth into account. The increasing population imbalance between the North and South Islands had slowed, and only one electorate seat was transferred from south to north. Five electorates were abolished, one former electorate (Onehunga) was re-established, and four electorates were created for the first time.[2]
The electorate was urban, and comprised a number of suburbs in the southern part of Auckland.
History
The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1861 to 1871 as Town of Onehunga, and then from 1871 to 1881 as Onehunga.[3] For the whole period the seat was held by George O'Rorke,[4] who became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1879.[5]
Onehunga was recreated in 1938,[3] and lasted to 1996. With the introduction of MMP in 1996, Onehunga and Panmure were combined into the new electorate of Maungakiekie.
Except for 1990–1993, Onehunga was held by Labour from its 1938 recreation.
Members of Parliament
The Onehunga electorate was represented by seven Members of Parliament.
Key
| Election | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| (electorate established as Town of Onehunga in 1860) | ||
| 1861 election | George O'Rorke | |
| 1866 election | ||
| (electorate renamed Onehunga in 1871) | ||
| 1871 election | George O'Rorke | |
| 1875 election | ||
| 1879 election | ||
| (Electorate abolished 1881–1938) | ||
| 1938 election | Arthur Osborne | |
| 1943 election | ||
| 1946 election | ||
| 1949 election | ||
| 1951 election | ||
| 1953 by-election | Hugh Watt | |
| 1954 election | ||
| 1957 election | ||
| 1960 election | ||
| 1963 election | ||
| 1966 election | ||
| 1969 election | ||
| 1972 election | ||
| 1975 election | Frank Rogers | |
| 1978 election | ||
| 1980 by-election | Fred Gerbic | |
| 1981 election | ||
| 1984 election | ||
| 1987 election | ||
| 1990 election | Grahame Thorne | |
| 1993 election | Richard Northey | |
| (Electorate abolished in 1996) | ||
Election results
1980 by-election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fred Gerbic | 6,543 | 48.11 | ||
| National | Sue Wood | 5,336 | 39.24 | ||
| Social Credit | T. K. Wood | 1,535 | 11.29 | ||
| Independent | S. C. Perry | 134 | 0.99 | ||
| Cheer Up | V. L. Terreni | 35 | 0.26 | ||
| Imperial British Conservative | J. M. Overton | 17 | 0.13 | ||
| Majority | 1,207 | 8.89 | |||
| Turnout | 13,600 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
1953 by-election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Hugh Watt | 6,868 | 66.99 | ||
| National | L. G. Bradley | 3,385 | 33.01 | ||
| Majority | 3,483 | 33.97 | |||
| Informal votes | 13 | 0.13 | |||
| Turnout | 13,749 | 63.48 | |||
| Registered electors | 16,171 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Notes
- 1 2 McRobie 1989, p. 35.
- ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 87–92.
- 1 2 Wilson 1985, p. 269.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 225.
- ↑ Rogers, Frank. "O'Rorke, George Maurice". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ Norton 1988, p. 295.
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.