Pahiatua (New Zealand electorate)

Pahiatua is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Wairarapa region. It existed from 1896 to 1996, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years.

Population centres

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, and three electorates were established for the first time, including Pahiatua.^[1] The original area of the Pahiatua electorate included the towns of Pahiatua and Woodville.^[2] Over time, the electorate shifted slightly north, until the town of Dannevirke was covered following the 1918 electoral redistribution.^[3]

The 1946 electoral redistribution took the abolition of the country quota into account, and as a rural electorate, the area covered by the Pahiatua electorate increased significantly.^[4] The Masterton electorate to the south was abolished, and its area distributed to the Wairarapa and Pahiatua electorate. Eketāhuna and Castlepoint were gained by the electorate in that process.^[5]

History

The Pahiatua electorate existed from 1896 to 1996. Early holders of the seat were John O'Meara from 1896 to 1904, Bill Hawkins from 1904 to 1905, Robert Beatson Ross from 1905 to 1911, James Escott from 1911 to 1916, Harold Smith from 1916 to 1919, Archibald McNicol from 1919 to 1922, and Alfred Ransom from 1922 to 1943.^[6]

The seat was held by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years, until he resigned to become Governor-General.^[7] In 1996 John Falloon, who had been the MP for Pahiatua for 19 years, chose to retire.

Members of Parliament

Key

Liberal Liberal–Labour Reform United National

Election	Winner
1896 election		John O'Meara
1899 election
1902 election
1904 by-election		Bill Hawkins
1905 election		Robert Beatson Ross
1908 election		Robert Beatson Ross
1911 election		James Escott
1914 election		James Escott
1916 by-election		Harold Smith
1919 election		Archibald McNicol
1922 election		Alfred Ransom
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election		Keith Holyoake
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
1977 by-election		John Falloon
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Wairarapa)

Election results

1977 by-election

1977 Pahiatua by-election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	John Falloon	9,059	63.01
	Labour	Allan Levett	4,280	29.77
	Social Credit	Graeme Hislop	844	5.87	−3.89
	Values	Peter McHugh	194	1.35	−2.18
Majority			4,779	33.24
Turnout			14,377	68.49	−16.12
Registered electors			20,993
	National hold		Swing

1975 election

1975 general election: Pahiatua^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	10,423	64.19	+4.08
	Labour	Paul Thornicroft	3,654	22.50
	Social Credit	Graeme Hislop	1,585	9.76
	Values	Peter McHugh	574	3.53
Majority			6,769	41.69	+12.00
Turnout			16,236	84.61	−1.39
Registered electors			19,188

1972 election

1972 general election: Pahiatua^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,825	60.11	−2.15
	Labour	L J Cairns	4,466	30.42
	Social Credit	J H Morrow	1,022	6.96
	Liberal Reform	R E Cheer	253	1.72
	New Democratic	J W Duffy	115	0.78
Majority			4,359	29.69	−4.30
Turnout			14,681	86.00	+0.75
Registered electors			17,069

1969 election

1969 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	9,010	62.26	+0.51
	Labour	Trevor de Cleene	4,090	28.26
	Social Credit	Douglas Conway	1,131	7.81
	Country Party	C K R Farnsworth	240	1.65
Majority			4,920	33.99	−7.29
Turnout			14,471	86.75	+0.86
Registered electors			16,681

1966 election

1966 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	7,914	61.75	−3.95
	Labour	F M O'Brien	2,623	20.46
	Social Credit	J H Morrow	2,207	17.22
	Independent	R E Cheer	71	0.55
Majority			5,291	41.28	−0.39
Turnout			12,815	85.89	−3.03
Registered electors			14,919

1963 election

1963 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	9,039	65.70	+1.26
	Labour	Ernie Hemmingsen	3,306	24.03
	Social Credit	Oliver Marks	1,411	10.25
Majority			5,733	41.67	+2.47
Turnout			13,756	88.92	−1.26
Registered electors			15,469

1960 election

1960 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,111	64.44	+2.41
	Labour	Kingsley McKane	3,177	25.24
	Social Credit	Percival John Dempsey	1,298	10.31
Majority			4,934	39.20	+8.32
Turnout			12,586	90.18	−2.39
Registered electors			13,955

1957 election

1957 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,075	62.03	+0.22
	Labour	William Erle Rose	4,055	31.15
	Social Credit	R M Gunn	887	6.81
Majority			4,020	30.88	+1.06
Turnout			13,017	92.57	1.84
Registered electors			14,061

1954 election

1954 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	7,293	61.81	+0.92
	Labour	Ronald Bell	3,774	31.98
	Social Credit	M M Whimp	731	6.19
Majority			3,519	29.82	−3.15
Turnout			11,798	90.73	+1.92
Registered electors			13,003

1951 election

1951 general election: Pahiatua^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,490	60.89	−6.68
	Labour	Owen Jones	3,892	27.91
Majority			4,598	32.97	−2.18
Turnout			12,382	88.81	−3.45
Registered electors			13,942

1949 election

1949 general election: Pahiatua^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,663	67.57	+3.51
	Labour	G P O'Leary	4,156	32.43
Majority			4,507	35.15	−7.03
Turnout			12,819	92.26	−1.82
Registered electors			13,894

1946 election

1946 general election: Pahiatua^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Keith Holyoake	8,422	64.06	+6.13
	Labour	Otto Ernest Niederer	4,725	35.94
Majority			3,697	28.12	+9.59
Turnout			13,147	94.08	+1.54
Registered electors			13,973

1943 election

1943 general election: Pahiatua^[12]^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	National	Keith Holyoake	5,705	57.93
	Labour	George Anders Hansen	3,880	39.39
	Democratic Labour	Edward Ellis	190	1.92
Informal votes			73	0.74
Majority			1,825	18.53
Turnout			9,848	95.62
Registered electors			10,299

1928 election

1928 general election: Pahiatua^[15]^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	United	Alfred Ransom	4,369	52.32
	Reform	Harold Smith	3,447	41.28
	Labour	Joseph Whittle	535	6.41
Majority			922	11.04
Informal votes			94	1.11
Turnout			8,445	90.97
Registered electors			9,283

1916 by-election

1916 Pahiatua by-election^[17]^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Harold Smith	1,521	47.57
	Liberal	Robert Ross	1,438	44.97
	Labour	George McFarlane	238	7.44
Majority			83	2.59
Turnout			3,197	51.23
Registered electors			6,241^[19]
	Reform hold		Swing

1904 by-election

1904 Pahiatua by-election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Liberal	Bill Hawkins	1,418	42.08
	Liberal	Lindsay Buick	1,323	39.26
	Independent	Samuel Bolton	476	14.12
	Liberal	David Crewe	138	4.09
	Independent	Donald Munro	14	0.41
Majority			95	2.81
Turnout			3,369

1899 election

1899 general election: Pahiatua^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John O'Meara	2,058	54.92	+23.31
	Conservative	Harold Smith	1,689	45.08
Majority			369	9.85	+8.90
Turnout			3,747	83.25
Registered electors			4,501

1896 election

1896 general election: Pahiatua^[22]^[23]^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John O'Meara	1,004	31.61
	Conservative	Robert Manisty	974	30.67
	Liberal	William Wilson McCardle	848	26.70
	Independent Liberal	James Taylor	233	7.34
	Conservative	George Whitcombe	117	3.68
Majority			30	0.94
Informal votes
Registered electors			4,125
Turnout

Notes

^ McRobie 1989, p. 63.
^ McRobie 1989, p. 62.
^ McRobie 1989, pp. 62–79.
^ McRobie 1989, p. 95.
^ McRobie 1989, pp. 90–94.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 269.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 206.
^ ^a ^b ^c Norton 1988, p. 305.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Norton 1988, p. 304.
^ "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
^ "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
^ "The General Election, 1943". National Library. 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ "Results from all Electorates". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 76. 27 September 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ "City Nominations". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 61. 9 September 1943. p. 9. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 4. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
^ "Political : Nomination for Pahiatua seat". Manawatu Standard. Vol. XLVIII, no. 279. 23 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
^ "Pahiatua by-election". Bay of Plenty Times. 18 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
^ "Pahiatua by-election". Sun. 7 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
^ McRobie 1989, p. 75.
^ "Complete Returns". The Marlborough Express. Vol. XXXVII, no. 174. 29 July 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
^ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
^ "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ "List of Candidates". The Star. No. 5733. 28 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ "Pahiatua Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XVI, no. 5498. 30 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

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: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. 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.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198963-1] McRobie 1989, p. 63.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198962-2] McRobie 1989, p. 62.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198962–79-3] McRobie 1989, pp. 62–79.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198995-4] McRobie 1989, p. 95.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198990–94-5] McRobie 1989, pp. 90–94.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985269-6] Wilson 1985, p. 269.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985206-7] Wilson 1985, p. 206.

[FOOTNOTENorton1988305-8] Norton 1988, p. 305.

[FOOTNOTENorton1988304-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Norton 1988, p. 304.

[10] "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.

[11] "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

[12] "The General Election, 1943". National Library. 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

[13] "Results from all Electorates". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 76. 27 September 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

[14] "City Nominations". Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVI, no. 61. 9 September 1943. p. 9. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

[1928_election-15] Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 4. Retrieved 19 February 2020.

[16] "Political : Nomination for Pahiatua seat". Manawatu Standard. Vol. XLVIII, no. 279. 23 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 19 February 2020.

[17] "Pahiatua by-election". Bay of Plenty Times. 18 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.

[18] "Pahiatua by-election". Sun. 7 August 1916. Retrieved 25 October 2015.

[FOOTNOTEMcRobie198975-19] McRobie 1989, p. 75.

[Pahiatua_by-election-20] "Complete Returns". The Marlborough Express. Vol. XXXVII, no. 174. 29 July 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

[21] "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.

[1896_election-22] "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

[23] "List of Candidates". The Star. No. 5733. 28 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

[24] "Pahiatua Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XVI, no. 5498. 30 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

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