1908 New Zealand general election
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All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 79.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1908 New Zealand general election was held on Tuesday, 17 and 24 November and 1 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 2 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 537,003 (79.8%) voters turned out to vote.[1]
Changes to the electoral law[]
The Second Ballot Act 1908 provided for second or runoff ballots between the top two candidates where the top candidate did not get an absolute majority. The second ballot was held 7 days after the first ballot except in 10 large rural seats, where 14 days were allowed. In 1908, 22 second ballots were held on 24 November and 1 (Bay of Plenty) on 1 December. At the 1911 election, all 30 second ballots were held 7 days later.[2] Two 1909 by-elections (in Rangitikei and Thames) also required second ballots.
The Second Ballot Act of 1908, which did not apply to the Maori electorates, was repealed in 1913.
Summary of results[]
Party totals[]
The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution.[3]
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Election results | ||||||
Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change | |
Liberal | 108 | 315,220 | 58.7 | 50 | -8 | |
Conservative | 53 | 149,286 | 27.8 | 26 | +10 | |
Ind. Labour League | 11 | 16,974 | 3.1 | 1 | +1 | |
Socialist | 5 | 2,521 | 0.6 | 0 | ±0 | |
Independent | 45 | 50,478 | 9.4 | 3 | -1 |
Votes summary[]
Electorate results[]
The following are the results of the 1908 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
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 | ||||
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:
- ^ † in Majority column depicts electorates in which a second ballot was held.
- ^ Harry Ell was previously associated with the Liberal Party.
- ^ For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
- ^ 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.
Summary of changes[]
- A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of seven seats:
- Caversham, held by Thomas Sidey
- Courtenay, held by Charles Lewis
- Hawera, held by Charles E. Major
- Mount Ida, held by John MacPherson
- Newtown, held by William Barber
- Waiapu, held by James Carroll
- Waikouaiti, held by Thomas Mackenzie
- At the same time, seven new seats came into being:
- Dunedin West
- Gisborne
- Stratford
- Taumarunui
- Tauranga
- Wellington South
- Wellington Suburbs
Notes[]
- ^ "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ McLintock, A. H. (1966). "Second Ballot System (1908–13)". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 287–289.
- ^ "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
References[]
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
- 1908 New Zealand general election