Ohinemuri (New Zealand electorate)

Ohinemuri is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It existed from 1896 to 1928, and was represented by five Members of Parliament.

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 Ohinemuri.^[1] The electorate was first used in the 1896 election.^[2] The original area included the settlements of Paeroa, Waihi, and Te Aroha.^[3]

In the 1902 electoral redistribution, Waihi was lost to the Bay of Plenty electorate.^[4] In the 1907 electoral redistribution, Waihi came back to the Ohinemuri electorate, but Te Aroha was lost to the Tauranga electorate.^[5] Ohinemuri was abolished in the 1927 electoral redistribution, and its area went to the Thames and Waikato electorates.

History

Alfred Cadman was the electorate's first representative. He had represented the area in Parliament since the 1881 election. Cadman retired from the Lower House for appointment to the New Zealand Legislative Council at the end of the parliamentary term in 1899.^[6]

At the 1899 election, Jackson Palmer defeated Edward Moss for the Ohinemuri electorate.^[7] Palmer had previously represented the Waitemata electorate north of Auckland.^[8] At the 1902 election, Moss in turn defeated Palmer.^[9] Moss was an Independent Liberal who bitterly opposed Premier Richard Seddon.^[10] At the 1905 election, Moss was defeated by Hugh Poland of the Liberal Party.^[11] Poland became an independent in 1919, and was defeated in the 1925 election by Albert Samuel.^[12]

When the electorate was abolished in 1928,^[2] Samuel transferred to the Thames electorate.^[13]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Liberal   Independent Liberal   Reform

Election	Winner
1896 election		Alfred Cadman
1899 election		Jackson Palmer
1902 election		Edward Moss
1905 election		Hugh Poland
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election		Albert Samuel
(Electorate abolished 1928; see Thames and Waikato)

Election results

1911 election

1911 general election: Ohinemuri, first ballot^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Poland	2,791	45.57
	Socialist	Pat Hickey	1,674	27.33
	Reform	Nisbet McRobie	1,547	25.26
	Independent	Charles Fletcher	48	0.78
Informal votes			64	1.04
Majority			127	2.07
Turnout			6,124	82.61
Registered electors			7,413

1911 general election: Ohinemuri, second ballot^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Poland	3,341	60.60	+15.03
	Socialist	Pat Hickey	2,134	38.70	+11.37
Informal votes			38	0.68	+0.10
Majority			1,207	21.89
Turnout			5,513	71.67	−10.94
Registered electors			7,413

1908 election

1908 general election: Ohinemuri, first ballot^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Poland	2,078	38.03
	Conservative	Frederick Haselden	1,252	22.91
	Socialist	Robert Frederick Way	725	13.27
	Independent	J Foster	268	4.90
	Independent Labour	Tim Armstrong	256	4.68
Turnout			5,463	78.08
Registered electors			6,932

1908 general election: Ohinemuri, second ballot^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Poland	2,884	56.68	+18.65
	Conservative	Frederick Haselden	2,192	43.08	+20.17
Majority			692	13.60
Turnout			5,088	73.39	−4.69
Registered electors			6,932

1899 election

1899 general election: Ohinemuri^{[16][nb 1]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	Jackson Palmer	1,765	31.94
	Independent Liberal	Edward George Britton Moss	1,470	26.60
	Conservative	William McCullough	795	14.39
	Liberal	Mervyn James Stewart	762	13.79
	Conservative	William Deeble	524	9.48
	Liberal	Leo De Bakker	206	3.73
	Independent Labour	Edward James Drumm[nb 2]	4	0.07
Majority			295	5.34
Turnout			5,526	70.19
Registered electors			7,873

Table footnotes:

1. The party affiliations shown in this table are uncertain as further discussed on the talk page.
2. Labour candidates at the time were counted as part of the Liberal Party

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, p. 63.
2. Wilson 1985, p. 269.
3. McRobie 1989, p. 62.
4. McRobie 1989, pp. 66f.
5. McRobie 1989, pp. 70f.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 187.
7. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 225.
9. Wilson 1985, pp. 221, 225.
10. Hokitika Guardian. 7 December 1905. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. Wilson 1985, p. 227.
12. Wilson 1985, pp. 227, 232.
13. Wilson 1985, p. 232.
14. "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 1–14. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
15. "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
16. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.