Lyttelton (New Zealand electorate)

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Lyttelton is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It existed from 1853–90, and again from 1893–1996, when it was replaced by the Banks Peninsula electorate.

Population centres

The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, passed by the British government, allowed New Zealand to establish a representative government. The initial 24 New Zealand electorates were defined by Governor George Grey in March 1853. Lyttelton was one of the initial single-member electorates.[1]

The electorate was in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch, New Zealand, and included the port of Lyttelton.

History

The electorate was created in 1853, and existed until 1890. In the 1890 election, the Akaroa electorate covered the town of Lyttelton.[2] The Lyttelton electorate was re-established for the 1893 election and existed until 1996, the first mixed-member proportional (MMP) election, when it was included in the Banks Peninsula electorate.

The nomination meeting for the first election was held on 15 August 1853 at the Reading Room in Lyttelton. The first election was held two days later on a Wednesday at the Resident Magistrate's Office in Lyttelton, with Charles Simeon as Resident Magistrate acting as the returning officer.[3] The election was contested by Christopher Edward Dampier, the solicitor of the Canterbury Association, and James FitzGerald, who in the previous month had been elected Canterbury's first Superintendent. Fitzgerald won the election by 55 votes to 45,[4] and represented the electorate until 1857, when he resigned due to ill health.[5]

Crosbie Ward won the resulting by-election in May 1858.[6] Ward was re-elected unopposed on 25 January 1861.[7]

Edward Allen Hargreaves won the 1866 election.[8] He resigned in April 1867.[9] Hargreaves was succeeded by George Macfarlan, who was elected in a 1 July 1867 by-election. Macfarlan died in office on 9 October 1868.[10]

John Thomas Peacock won the 2 November 1868 by-election[11] and held the seat until April 1873, when was promoted to the New Zealand Legislative Council (the upper house).[12][13] He resigned from Parliament on 5 April 1873.[14] The resulting by-election on 19 May 1873 was won by his brother in law, Henry Richard Webb.[15]

At the 28 December 1875 general election, the Lyttelton electorate was won by Hugh Murray-Aynsley.[16]

Harry Allwright won the 1879 general election held on 4 September. Allwright and Hugh Murray-Aynsley contested the seat, and received 192 and 176 votes, respectively.[17]

John Joyce represented Lyttelton 1887–1890 and 1893–1899. The electorate was held from 1913 by James McCombs for the Social Democrats and then for Labour; he was succeeded by his wife when he died, and then his son when she also died.

The 1925 general election was contested by Melville Lyons and the incumbent, James McCombs.[18] The original count resulted in a tie of 4,900 votes each. The returning officer gave his casting vote to Lyons and declared him elected. A recount was demanded, and on 3 December 1925, an amended result of 4890 votes for Lyons and 4884 votes for McCombs was determined, with the differences in the counts explained by counting informal votes in a different way.[19] Lyons' election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, McCombs, was restored as the holder of the electorate.[18]

The 1931 election had a close result, with McCombs just 32 votes ahead of the United/Reform Coalition candidate, Christchurch civil engineer Frederick Willie Freeman.[20][21]

The seat has been held by National and Norman Kirk transferred to the safer (for Labour) Sydenham seat in 1969, just as his predecessor Harry Lake transferred to the safer (for National) Fendalton seat in 1960.

Election results

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Labour     Reform     National  

Election Winner
1853 election James FitzGerald
1855 election
1858 by-election Crosbie Ward
1861 election
1866 election Edward Hargreaves
1867 by-election George Macfarlan
1868 by-election John Thomas Peacock
1871 election
1873 by-election Henry Richard Webb
1875 election Hugh Murray-Aynsley
1879 election Harry Allwright
1881 election
1884 election
1887 election John Joyce
(Electorate abolished 1890–1893; see Akaroa)
1893 election John Joyce
1896 election
1899 election George Laurenson
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election
1911 election
1913 by-election James McCombs
1914 election
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election Melville Lyons
13 March 1926[nb 1] James McCombs
1928 election
1931 election
1933 by-election Elizabeth McCombs
1935 by-election Terry McCombs
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election Harry Lake
1954 election
1957 election Norman Kirk
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election Tom McGuigan
1972 election
1975 election Colleen Dewe
1978 election Ann Hercus
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election Peter Simpson
1990 election Gail McIntosh
1993 election Ruth Dyson
(Electorate abolished 1996; see Banks Peninsula)

Table footnotes:

  1. ↑ 1925 election result declared invalid in 1926 and McCombs reinstated.

Election results

1935 by-election

Lyttelton by-election, 1935[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terry McCombs 5,437 58.65
United/Reform Melville Lyons 3,685 39.75
Independent Labour Edward Hills 103 1.11
Independent G.S. Hamilton 46 0.50
Majority 1752 18.9 -6.75
Turnout 9,271 67.43[23]

1933 by-election

Lyttelton by-election, 1933[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Elizabeth McCombs 6,344 61.66 11.89
United/Reform Frederick Freeman 3,675 35.72 -13.76
Independent Labour Edward Hills 269 2.61
Majority 2,669 25.94 +25.65
Turnout 10,288 74.98

1931 election

General election, 1931: Lyttelton[20][25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James McCombs 5,404 49.77
Reform Frederick Willie Freeman 5,372 49.47
Independent William Ling Page 83 0.76
Majority 32 0.29
Informal votes 71 0.65
Turnout 10,930 86.57
Registered electors 12,625

Lyttelton by-election, 1913, first ballot

Lyttelton by-election, 1913: First ballot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Democrat James McCombs 2,075 42.20
Reform Malcolm Miller 1,560 31.73
Liberal James Laurenson 922 18.75
Independent Liberal Henry Thacker 263 5.35
Independent William Radcliffe 97 1.97
Turnout 4,917

Lyttelton by-election, 1913, second ballot

Lyttelton by-election, 1913: Second ballot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Democrat James McCombs 2,628 52.25
Reform Malcolm Miller 2,402 47.75
Majority 226 4.50
Turnout 5,030
Social Democrat gain from Liberal Swing

1899 election

General election, 1899: Lyttelton[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Laurenson 2,700 75.27
Opposition William Jacques 887 24.73
Majority 1,813 50.54
Informal votes
Registered electors 4,841
Turnout 3,587 74.10

1896 election

General election, 1896: Lyttelton[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Joyce 1,734 49.83 -18.12
Opposition William Jacques 1,288 37.01
Independent Liberal Samuel Rollin Webb 458 13.16
Majority 446 12.82
Informal votes
Registered electors 4,285[28]
Turnout

1893 election

General election, 1893: Lyttelton[29][30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Joyce 1,895 67.95
Liberal Edwin Blake 854 30.62
Independent John Moncrieff Douglass 40 1.43
Majority 1,041 37.33
Informal votes
Turnout 2,789 77.71
Registered electors 3,589

1873 by-election

Lyttelton by-election, 1873[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Henry Richard Webb 122 51.48
Independent Hugh Murray-Aynsley 115 48.52
Turnout 237
Majority 7 2.95

1853 election

General election, 1853: Lyttelton[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent James FitzGerald 55 55.0%
Independent Christopher Edward Dampier 45 45.0%
Majority 10 10.0%
Turnout 100 80.0%
Registered electors 125

Notes

  1. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 29f.
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  9. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 112.
  10. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 122.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 64.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

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