1884 East Coast by-election

The 1884 East Coast by-election was a by-election held on 16 June 1884 in the East Coast electorate during the 8th New Zealand Parliament.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent MP Allan McDonald.

He was replaced by Samuel Locke. A show of hands had preferred Rees, who said he was opposed by the government.^[1]

Rees subsequently accused Locke of "corrupt practices" during the by-election.^[2] Michael Gannon decided to stand for the Bay of Islands in the 1884 election (general election) held on 22 July, and came second.^[3]

Results

The following table gives the election result:

1884 East Coast by-election^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Samuel Locke	509	45.49
	Independent	Michael Gannon[6]	315	28.15
	Independent	William Lee Rees	295	26.36
Turnout			1119
Majority			194	17.34

References

1. "East Coast Election". Daily Telegraph. 10 June 1884. p. 2.
2. "Mr Ree's charge against Mr Locke". Poverty Bay Herald. 8 July 1884.
3. "Candidates for the General Election". Wanganui Chronicle. Vol. XI, no. 4032. 7 July 1884. p. 2.
4. "Declaration of the Poll". Poverty Bay Herald. 23 June 1884.
5. "The East Coast Election". Hawke's Bay Herald. 20 June 1884.
6. Oliver, Steven. "Kate Wyllie". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 19 January 2019.