Onehunga, initially with the formal name of Town of Onehunga, is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the south of the city of Auckland. Between 1861 and 1881, and between 1938 and 1996, it was represented by seven Members of Parliament. It was a stronghold for the Labour Party.
Population centres
In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of representatives by 12, reflecting the immense population growth since the original electorates were established in 1853. The redistribution created 15 additional electorates with between one and three members, and Onehunga was one of the single-member electorates.[1] The electorates were distributed to provinces so that every province had at least two members. Within each province, the number of registered electors by electorate varied greatly.[1]
The 1931 New Zealand census had been cancelled due to the Great Depression, so the 1937 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth into account. The increasing population imbalance between the North and South Islands had slowed, and only one electorate seat was transferred from south to north. Five electorates were abolished, one former electorate (Onehunga) was re-established, and four electorates were created for the first time.[2]
The electorate was urban, and comprised a number of suburbs in the southern part of Auckland.
History
The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1861 to 1871 as Town of Onehunga, and then from 1871 to 1881 as Onehunga.[3] For the whole period the seat was held by George O'Rorke,[4] who became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1879.[5]
Onehunga was recreated in 1938,[3] and lasted to 1996. With the introduction of MMP in 1996, Onehunga and Panmure were combined into the new electorate of Maungakiekie.
Except for 1990–1993, Onehunga was held by Labour from its 1938 recreation.
Members of Parliament
The Onehunga electorate was represented by seven Members of Parliament.
Key
Election | Winner | |
---|---|---|
(electorate established as Town of Onehunga in 1860) | ||
1861 election | George O'Rorke | |
1866 election | ||
(electorate renamed Onehunga in 1871) | ||
1871 election | George O'Rorke | |
1875 election | ||
1879 election | ||
(Electorate abolished 1881–1938) | ||
1938 election | Arthur Osborne | |
1943 election | ||
1946 election | ||
1949 election | ||
1951 election | ||
1953 by-election | Hugh Watt | |
1954 election | ||
1957 election | ||
1960 election | ||
1963 election | ||
1966 election | ||
1969 election | ||
1972 election | ||
1975 election | Frank Rogers | |
1978 election | ||
1980 by-election | Fred Gerbic | |
1981 election | ||
1984 election | ||
1987 election | ||
1990 election | Grahame Thorne | |
1993 election | Richard Northey | |
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Maungakiekie) |
Election results
1993 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Richard Northey | 7,183 | 35.54 | ||
National | Grahame Thorne | 6,776 | 33.53 | −9.62 | |
Alliance | Matt Robson | 3,503 | 17.33 | ||
NZ First | Ian Shearer | 2,132 | 10.55 | ||
Christian Heritage | Barry Paterson | 318 | 1.57 | ||
McGillicuddy Serious | Richard Foster | 110 | 0.54 | ||
Natural Law | Bryan Lee | 95 | 0.47 | ||
Independent | Warwick Jordan | 89 | 0.44 | ||
Majority | 407 | 2.01 | |||
Turnout | 20,206 | 84.44 | +9.28 | ||
Registered electors | 23,929 |
1990 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | Grahame Thorne | 8,290 | 43.15 | ||
Labour | Fred Gerbic | 7,678 | 39.96 | −16.29 | |
Green | Laurie Ross | 1,909 | 9.93 | ||
NewLabour | Mark Philip | 1,016 | 5.28 | ||
Social Credit | Janice Matthews | 170 | 0.88 | ||
Democrats | Arthur Drabble | 148 | 0.77 | ||
Majority | 612 | 3.18 | |||
Turnout | 19,211 | 75.16 | −9.22 | ||
Registered electors | 25,557 |
1987 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fred Gerbic | 10,753 | 56.25 | +5.01 | |
National | Andrew Stanley | 7,424 | 38.84 | ||
Democrats | Thomas Keith Park | 937 | 4.90 | ||
Majority | 3,329 | 17.41 | −2.93 | ||
Turnout | 19,114 | 84.38 | −5.17 | ||
Registered electors | 22,652 |
1984 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fred Gerbic | 11,354 | 51.24 | +3.97 | |
National | Carol Freeman | 6,846 | 30.90 | ||
NZ Party | Peter Blakeborogh | 2,894 | 13.06 | ||
Social Credit | Deborah Maree Terei | 841 | 3.79 | ||
Values | Ruth Helen Gardner Symons | 137 | 0.61 | ||
Independent | Stanley Lusby | 83 | 0.37 | ||
Majority | 4,508 | 20.34 | +9.69 | ||
Turnout | 22,155 | 89.55 | +1.54 | ||
Registered electors | 24,740 |
1981 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fred Gerbic | 8,925 | 47.27 | −0.85 | |
National | Sue Wood | 6,913 | 36.61 | −2.63 | |
Social Credit | Stuart Perry | 3,040 | 16.10 | +15.11 | |
Majority | 2,012 | 10.65 | +1.78 | ||
Turnout | 18,878 | 88.01 | +37.78 | ||
Registered electors | 21,451 |
1980 by-election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Fred Gerbic | 6,543 | 48.12 | ||
National | Sue Wood | 5,336 | 39.24 | ||
Social Credit | Thomas Keith Park | 1,535 | 11.29 | −0.06 | |
Independent | Stuart Perry | 134 | 0.99 | ||
Cheer Up | Vince Terreni | 35 | 0.26 | ||
Imperial British Conservative | Max Overton | 17 | 0.13 | ||
Majority | 1,207 | 8.87 | |||
Turnout | 13,600 | 50.23 | −10.04 | ||
Registered electors | 27,071 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
1978 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frank Rogers | 8,837 | 46.99 | +0.86 | |
National | Barrie Hutchinson | 7,420 | 39.45 | ||
Social Credit | Thomas Keith Park | 2,135 | 11.35 | ||
Values | Dianne Paton | 390 | 2.07 | ||
National Socialist | Colin King-Ansell | 22 | 0.11 | ||
Majority | 1,417 | 7.53 | +1.71 | ||
Turnout | 18,804 | 60.27 | −15.94 | ||
Registered electors | 31,199 |
1975 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frank Rogers | 8,264 | 46.13 | ||
National | Kevin O'Brien | 7,220 | 40.30 | ||
Social Credit | Judy Charlton | 1,264 | 7.05 | ||
Values | Jack Frost | 1,129 | 6.30 | ||
Socialist Unity | John Willis | 35 | 0.19 | ||
Majority | 1,044 | 5.82 | |||
Turnout | 17,912 | 76.21 | −10.46 | ||
Registered electors | 23,501 |
1972 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 10,053 | 58.67 | −1.23 | |
National | Peter Blakeborough | 5,218 | 30.45 | ||
Social Credit | Alf Benson | 1,669 | 9.74 | +1.15 | |
New Democratic | Arthur Bree | 194 | 1.13 | ||
Majority | 4,835 | 28.21 | −0.19 | ||
Turnout | 17,134 | 86.67 | +0.01 | ||
Registered electors | 19,767 |
1969 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 9,574 | 59.90 | +1.38 | |
National | Daphne Double | 5,035 | 31.50 | +2.83 | |
Social Credit | Alf Benson | 1,373 | 8.59 | ||
Majority | 4,539 | 28.40 | −1.45 | ||
Turnout | 15,982 | 85.66 | −1.86 | ||
Registered electors | 18,657 |
1966 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 8,361 | 58.52 | −4.61 | |
National | Daphne Double | 4,096 | 28.67 | ||
Social Credit | James Robinson | 1,828 | 12.79 | ||
Majority | 4,265 | 29.85 | −3.98 | ||
Turnout | 14,285 | 83.80 | −5.10 | ||
Registered electors | 17,045 |
1963 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 9,567 | 63.13 | −1.96 | |
National | J P Mason | 4,440 | 29.29 | ||
Social Credit | John Clarence Leitch | 741 | 4.88 | +0.93 | |
Liberal | W F Lauder | 274 | 1.80 | ||
Communist | Stan Hieatt | 132 | 0.87 | ||
Majority | 5,127 | 33.83 | −1.03 | ||
Turnout | 15,154 | 88.90 | +9.73 | ||
Registered electors | 17,045 |
1960 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 8,785 | 65.09 | −2.23 | |
National | Paul Brian Phillips | 4,080 | 30.23 | ||
Social Credit | John Clarence Leitch | 534 | 3.95 | ||
Communist | Donald McEwan | 97 | 0.71 | ||
Majority | 4,705 | 34.86 | −4.39 | ||
Turnout | 13,496 | 79.17 | −14.48 | ||
Registered electors | 17,045 |
1957 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 9,752 | 67.32 | +4.83 | |
National | Donald Watson | 4,066 | 28.07 | ||
Social Credit | George Alexander Pealing | 667 | 4.60 | ||
Majority | 5,686 | 39.25 | +8.89 | ||
Turnout | 14,485 | 93.65 | +2.16 | ||
Registered electors | 15,466 |
1954 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 9,033 | 62.49 | −4.50 | |
National | Alfred E. Allen | 4,644 | 32.12 | ||
Social Credit | Ernest Richard James | 777 | 5.37 | ||
Majority | 4,389 | 30.36 | −3.61 | ||
Turnout | 14,454 | 91.49 | +28.01 | ||
Registered electors | 15,797 |
1953 by-election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh Watt | 6,868 | 66.99 | ||
National | Leonard Bradley | 3,385 | 33.01 | −10.01 | |
Informal votes | 13 | 0.13 | |||
Majority | 3,483 | 33.97 | |||
Turnout | 13,749 | 63.48 | −23.51 | ||
Registered electors | 16,171 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
1951 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Arthur Osborne | 8,017 | 56.98 | −0.31 | |
National | Leonard Bradley | 6,051 | 43.02 | ||
Majority | 1,966 | 13.97 | −1.99 | ||
Turnout | 14,068 | 86.99 | −5.02 | ||
Registered electors | 16,171 |
1949 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Arthur Osborne | 8,255 | 57.29 | −5.06 | |
National | Alan A. Coates | 5,955 | 41.33 | ||
Communist | Roy Stanley | 198 | 1.37 | ||
Majority | 2,300 | 15.96 | −8.75 | ||
Turnout | 14,408 | 92.01 | −2.21 | ||
Registered electors | 15,658 |
1946 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Arthur Osborne | 8,639 | 62.35 | +6.67 | |
National | William Kenneth King | 5,215 | 37.64 | ||
Majority | 3,424 | 24.71 | +4.13 | ||
Turnout | 13,854 | 94.22 | +5.07 | ||
Registered electors | 14,703 |
1943 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Arthur Osborne | 8,993 | 55.68 | −8.88 | |
National | John Park | 5,704 | 35.31 | +0.36 | |
Democratic Labour | Norman Douglas | 1,099 | 6.80 | ||
Real Democracy | Theodore Edwin Somerville | 287 | 1.77 | ||
People's Movement | Louis Edgar Read | 67 | 0.41 | ||
Informal votes | 115 | 0.71 | +0.21 | ||
Majority | 3,324 | 20.58 | −9.00 | ||
Turnout | 16,150 | 89.15 | −3.62 | ||
Registered electors | 18,115 |
1938 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Arthur Osborne | 9,412 | 64.56 | ||
National | John Park | 5,098 | 34.95 | ||
Informal votes | 73 | 0.50 | |||
Majority | 4,314 | 29.58 | |||
Turnout | 14,583 | 92.77 | |||
Registered electors | 15,718 |
Notes
- ^ a b McRobie 1989, p. 35.
- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 87–92.
- ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 269.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 225.
- ^ Rogers, Frank. "O'Rorke, George Maurice". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993.
- ^ Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990.
- ^ a b c d e f g Norton 1988, p. 296.
- ^ a b c d e f g Norton 1988, p. 295.
- ^ "The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1951–52". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 80, no. 24713. 13 October 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
References
- McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
- Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.