1868 Westland Boroughs by-election

The Westland Boroughs by-election 1868 was a by-election held in the Westland Boroughs electorate during the 4th New Zealand Parliament, on 3 April 1868.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP William Moorhouse and was won by William Henry Harrison. On nomination day (1 April) Harrison and William Shaw were nominated.^[1] The Westland Boroughs electorate was made up of the boroughs of Greymouth and Hokitika.^[2] Harrison was a resident of Greymouth and was the editor of the Grey River Argus.^[3] Shaw was the current Mayor of Hokitika, and proprietor of the West Coast Times.^[4] After a show of hands in favour of Shaw (eight votes to four), Harrison demanded a poll.^[1] William Harrison was subsequently elected two days later.^[5]

Results

1868 Westland Boroughs by-election^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Henry Harrison	98	54.7
	Independent	William Shaw	81	45.3
Majority			17	9.5
Turnout			179

The polling was notable in that each candidate overwhelmingly dominated in their own borough, with Shaw taking 90% of the vote in Hokitika and Harrison all but one of the Greymouth votes.^[6]

	Hokitika	Greymouth
Shaw	80	1
Harrison	9	89

References

1. "Election for the Westland Boroughs. The Nomination". West Coast Times. No. 788. 2 April 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
2. McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. p. 36. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
3. Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF). Vol. I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. p. 364. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
4. "West Coast Times". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
5. "The Westland Boroughs". West Coast Times. No. 790. 4 April 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
6. "West Coast Times (editorial)". West Coast Times. No. 790. 4 April 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2013.