17th New Zealand Parliament

The 17th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1908 general election in November and December of that year.

17th Parliament of New Zealand
← 16th Parliament 18th Parliament →
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	10 June 1909 – 28 October 1911
Election	1908 New Zealand general election
Government	Liberal Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Arthur Guinness
Prime Minister	Joseph Ward
Leader of the Opposition	William Massey
Legislative Council
Members	45 (at start) 38 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	Charles Bowen
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George V — HM Edward VII until 6 May 1910
Governor	HE Rt. Hon. The Lord Islington from 22 June 1910 — HE Rt. Hon. THe Lord Plunket until 8 June 1910

1908 general election

Main article: 1908 New Zealand general election

Members of the Liberal Party of the 17th Parliament

The Second Ballot Act 1908 was used for the 1908 general election. The first ballot was held on Tuesday, 17 November in the general electorates. 22 second ballots were held one week later on 24 November, and in one large rural electorate (Bay of Plenty), two weeks were allowed before the second ballot was held on 1 December. The Second Ballot Act did not apply to the four Māori electorates and the election was held on Wednesday, 2 December.^[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 41 represented North Island electorates, 35 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.^[2] 537,003 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 79.8%.^[1]

Sessions

The 17th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1909), and was prorogued on 20 November 1911.^[3]

Session	Opened	Adjourned
first	10 June 1909	16 June 1909
second	7 October 1909	28 December 1909
third	28 June 1910	3 December 1910
fourth	27 July 1911	28 October 1911

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891.^[4] Joseph Ward formed the Ward Ministry on 6 August 1906.^[5][6] The Ward Ministry remained in power until Ward's resignation as Prime Minister in 1912.^[5][7]

Party composition

Start of term

Party		Seats
	Liberal || 50
	Conservative || 26
	Independent || 3
	Other	1
Source[8]

Initial composition of the 17th Parliament

The following are the results of the 1908 general election:

Key

  Liberal   Conservative   Ind. Labour League   Independent Liberal   Liberal–Labour   Independent

Electorate results for the 1908 New Zealand general election^[9]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates[nb 1]
Ashburton		John McLachlan		William Nosworthy	747†		Frederick Flatman
Auckland Central		Alfred Kidd		Albert Glover	2,540		Alfred Kidd
Auckland East		Frederick Baume			1,096		William Richardson
Auckland West		Charles Poole			1,455		Robert Thompson
Avon		William Tanner		George Warren Russell	541†		William Tanner
Awarua		Joseph Ward			2,183		William Morris
Bay of Islands		Robert Houston		Vernon Reed	265		John Charles Johnson
Bay of Plenty		William Herries		William MacDonald	446†		James Gow
Bruce		James Allen			1,393		Joseph Mosley
Buller		James Colvin			997		Fergus Ferguson Munro
Chalmers		Edmund Allen		Edward Henry Clark	226		Edmund Allen
Christchurch East		Thomas Davey			1,666		James McCombs
Christchurch North		Charles Gray		Tommy Taylor	1,698		Charles Gray
Christchurch South		Harry Ell[nb 2]			1,273		Jim Thorn
Clutha		Alexander Malcolm			1,799		Frank Isitt
Dunedin Central		John A. Millar		James Arnold	1,512		John McDonald
Dunedin North		Alfred Barclay		George Thomson	6		Alfred Barclay
Dunedin South		James Arnold		Thomas Sidey	1,830		Robert Rutherford Douglas
Dunedin West	New electorate			John A. Millar	2,447		Jim Munro
Eden		John Bollard			2,164		John Shackelford
Egmont		William Thomas Jennings		Bradshaw Dive	249		George Wake
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes			902		George Rennie
Franklin		William Massey			1,187		John McLarin
Geraldine		Frederick Flatman		Thomas Buxton	92		William Jeffries
Gisborne	New electorate			James Carroll	734		George Darton
Grey		Arthur Guinness			1,115		James Kerr[nb 3]
Grey Lynn		George Fowlds			889		Oliver Nicholson
Hawke's Bay		Alfred Dillon			704		William Russell
Hurunui		Andrew Rutherford		George Forbes	597		Obed Clothier
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			1,538		Richard Shortt
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan			848		Arthur Paape
Kaiapoi		David Buddo			77		Richard Moore
Kaipara		John Stallworthy			283		Alfred Harding
Lyttelton		George Laurenson			803		Henry Thacker
Manawatu		John Stevens		Edward Newman	585		John Stevens
Manukau		Frederic Lang			1,369		Alfred Creamer
Marsden		Francis Mander			704		James Harrison
Masterton		Alexander Hogg			1,248		John Hunter
Mataura		Robert McNab		George Anderson	366		Robert McNab
Motueka		Roderick McKenzie			1,501		Frederick Smith
Napier		Alfred Fraser		Vigor Brown	1,035		Alfred Fraser
Nelson		John Graham			14		Harry Atmore
Oamaru		Thomas Young Duncan			613		James Mitchell
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland			692†		Frederick Haselden
Oroua		Frank Lethbridge		David Guthrie	941		Owen Pleasants
Otaki		William Hughes Field		William Hughes Field	93		Byron Brown
Pahiatua		Robert Beatson Ross			264		James Cooper
Palmerston		William Wood		David Buick	81†		William Wood
Parnell		Frank Lawry			219		Edward George Britton Moss
Patea		Walter Symes		George Pearce	252		Charles E. Major
Rangitikei		Arthur Remington			158		Robert William Smith
Riccarton		George Witty			1,600		George Sheat
Selwyn		Charles Hardy			383		Joseph Ivess
Stratford	New electorate			John Hine	724		Walter Symes
Taranaki		Henry Okey			1,295		William Malone
Taieri		Donald Reid		Thomas Mackenzie	521		John Thomas Johnson
Taumarunui	New electorate			William Thomas Jennings	1,850		William Bowater
Tauranga	New electorate			William Herries	1,303		James Alexander Young
Thames		James McGowan			2,100		Ernest Deeble
Timaru		William Hall-Jones		James Craigie	380†		William David Campbell
Tuapeka		William Chapple		Robert Scott	697†		John MacPherson
Wairarapa		J. T. Marryat Hornsby		Walter Clarke Buchanan	136		J. T. Marryat Hornsby
Wairau		Charles H. Mills		John Duncan	252		Robert McArtney
Waikato		Henry Greenslade			493		Allen Bell
Waipawa		Charles Hall			50		George Hunter
Waitaki		William Steward			329		Francis Henry Smith
Waitemata		Ewen Alison		Leonard Phillips	903†		William Joseph Napier
Wakatipu		William Fraser			1,151		Andrew Martin
Wallace		John Charles Thomson			1,346		Dugald MacPherson
Wanganui		James Thomas Hogan			742†		George Hutchison
Wellington Central		Francis Fisher			143		Thomas Hislop
Wellington East		John Aitken		David McLaren	427†		Arthur Atkinson
Wellington North		Charles Hayward Izard		Alexander Herdman	826†		Frederick Bolton
Wellington South	New electorate			Robert Wright	558†		William Barber
Wellington Suburbs	New electorate			John Luke	1,148†		John Edward Fitzgerald
Westland		Tom Seddon			110		Henry Michel
Māori electorates[nb 4]
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata			3,010		Tiki Paaka
Northern Maori		Hone Heke			1,045		Hare te Rangi
Southern Maori		Tame Parata			7		Teone Hopere Wharewiti Uru
Western Maori		Henare Kaihau			757		Pepene Eketone

Table footnotes:

1. † in Majority column depicts electorates in which a second ballot was held.
2. Harry Ell was previously associated with the Liberal Party.
3. For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
4. The affiliation of many of the Māori candidates is unknown or uncertain; note that the Second Ballot Act 1908 did not apply to Māori constituencies.

By-elections during 17th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 17th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Thames	1909	4 February		James McGowan	Appointed to Legislative Council		Edmund Taylor
Northern Maori	1909	20 March		Hone Heke Ngapua	Death		Peter Buck
Rangitikei	1909	16 September		Arthur Remington	Death		Robert Smith
Auckland East	1910	16 June		Frederick Baume	Death		Arthur Myers
Christchurch North	1911	17 August		Tommy Taylor	Death		Leonard Isitt

Name	Year	Seat	From		To
William Hughes Field	1909	Otaki		Independent		Reform
Francis Fisher	1910	Wellington Central
David McLaren		Wellington East		Ind. Labour League		Labour

Notes

1. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
2. Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
3. Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
4. Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
5. Scholefield 1950, pp. 42–43.
6. Hall-Jones, John. "Hall-Jones, William 1851-1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
7. Bassett, Michael. "Ward, Joseph George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
8. "1890–1993 general elections | Elections". Elections.nz. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
9. "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.

References

• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.