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Bruce (New Zealand electorate)

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Bruce was a rural parliamentary electorate in the Otago region of New Zealand, from 1861 to 1922. For part of the 1860s with the influx to Otago of gold-miners it was a multi-member constituency with two members.

Population centres

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In 1865 the Bruce electorate included Tokomairiro, Waihola, East Taieri, suburbs of Dunedin, Inch Clutha, Lawrence, Warepa and Pomahaka.

History

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The Bruce electorate was formed in the 1860 electoral redistribution. It covered the rural area surrounding Dunedin that had previously been part of the Dunedin Country electorate. The Bruce electorate was a two-member constituency.[1] The electorate was named after Robert the Bruce who was King of Scotland from 1306 to 1329.[2]

Charles Kettle and Thomas Gillies were the only two candidates for the newly constituted two-member electorate of Bruce. They were thus declared elected unopposed on 11 February 1861.[3]

Kettle died on 5 June 1862.[4] Edward Cargill succeeded him in the 1862 by-election.[5]

Thomas Gillies resigned in 1865 and the subsequent by-election was contested by William John Dyer and Arthur John Burns.[6] On 8 April 1865, Burns and Dyer received 102 and 78 votes. Burns was thus declared elected.[7]

Later in 1865, Edward Cargill resigned. The resulting by-election, held on 26 July, was contested by James Macandrew and John Cargill. Macandrew and J. Cargill received 207 and 34 votes, and Macandrew was declared elected.[8]

From the 1866 general election, Bruce was a single-member electorate. John Cargill was its first representative, and he resigned in 1870. James Clark Brown won the 1870 by-election on 21 March. Brown stood for Tuapeka in the 1871 general election. William Murray won the 1871 election for Bruce, was confirmed in 1876 and 1879, but defeated in 1881 by James Rutherford, who died in 1883. James McDonald won the 1883 by-election, but was defeated at the 1884 general election.[5]

Robert Gillies won the 1884 general election, but resigned on 30 June 1885.[9] Donald Reid won the resulting 1885 by-election, but was defeated at the 1887 general election by Crawford Anderson. He retired at the end of the term, and the 1890 general election was won by James William Thomson, who resigned again in 1892.[5]

The later Defence Minister James Allen won the 1892 by-election and held the seat until 1920, when he resigned. John Edie was successful in the 1920 by-election, and when the electorate was abolished in 1922, he successfully stood for Clutha.[5]

Members of Parliament

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Bruce was represented by 16 Members of Parliament.[5]

Key:

  Independent   Conservative   Reform   Liberal

1861 to 1866

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Bruce was a two-member electorate from 1861 to 1866.

Election Winner
1861 election Charles Kettle Thomas Gillies
1862 by-election Edward Cargill
April 1865 by-election Arthur John Burns
July 1865 by-election James Macandrew

1866 to 1922

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From 1866 to 1922, Bruce was a single-member electorate.

Election Winner
1866 election John Cargill
1870 by-election James Clark Brown
1871 election William Murray
1876 election
1879 election
1881 election James Rutherford
1883 by-election James McDonald
1884 election Robert Gillies
1885 by-election Donald Reid
1887 election Crawford Anderson
1890 election James William Thomson
1892 by-election James Allen
1893 election
1896 election
1899 election
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1919 election
1920 by-election John Edie
(Electorate abolished 1922; see Clutha)

Election results

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1920 by-election

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1920 Bruce by-election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Edie 2,421 51.14 +2.22
Reform James Begg 2,297 48.52
Informal votes 16 0.33 −0.87
Majority 124 2.61
Turnout 4,734 63.92 −16.28
Registered electors 7,406

1919 election

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1919 general election: Bruce[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform James Allen 2,993 51.08
Liberal John Edie 2,867 48.92
Informal votes 71 1.20
Majority 126 2.15
Turnout 5,931 80.20
Registered electors 7,395

1899 election

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1899 general election: Bruce[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Allen 1,966 55.10
Liberal Crawford Anderson[13] 1,602 44.90
Majority 364 10.20
Turnout 3,568 76.48
Registered electors 4,665

1892 by-election

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1892 Bruce by-election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Allen 1,085 66.85
Liberal Alfred Lee Smith 538 33.14
Majority 547 33.70
Turnout 1,623 75.06
Registered electors 2,162

1890 election

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1890 general election: Bruce[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James William Thomson 872 69.76
Conservative James Smith 378 30.24
Majority 494 39.51
Turnout 1,250 59.80
Registered electors 2,090

1885 by-election

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1885 Bruce by-election[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Donald Reid 336 31.61
Independent James McDonald 327 30.76
Independent J. C. Anderson 303 28.50
Independent William Hutchison 97 9.13
Majority 9 0.85
Turnout 1063

1883 by-election

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1883 Bruce by-election[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent James McDonald 472 46.64
Independent Robert Gillies 451 44.57
Independent William A. Mosley 89 8.79
Majority 21 2.08
Turnout 1136

1871 election

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1871 general election: Bruce[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent William Murray 131 40.43
Independent William John Dyer 90 27.78
Independent William Cutten 72 22.22
Independent William Black 31 9.57
Majority 41 12.65
Turnout 324 60.79
Registered electors 533

July 1865 by-election

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July 1865 Bruce by-election[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent James Macandrew 207 85.89
Independent John Cargill 34 14.11
Majority 173 71.78
Turnout 241 48.20
Registered electors 500

April 1865 by-election

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April 1865 Bruce by-election[20][21][22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Arthur John Burns 102 56.67
Independent William John Dyer 78 43.33
Majority 24 13.33
Turnout 180 36.00
Registered electors 500

1862 by-election

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1862 Bruce by-election[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Edward Cargill 74 57.81
Independent William Baldwin 54 42.19
Turnout 128
Majority 20

Notes

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  1. ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 31–35.
  2. ^ "Exit Bruce: When an electorate is eliminated". New Zealand Parliament. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Local Intelligence". Otago Witness. No. 481. 16 February 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  4. ^ Patterson, Brad. "Kettle, Charles Henry". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 188. OCLC 154283103.
  6. ^ "The Nomination". Bruce Herald. Vol. II, no. 52. 6 April 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  7. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 698. 15 April 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 714. 5 August 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  9. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
  10. ^ "The Bruce Election". The Southland Times. No. 18805. 26 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  11. ^ The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1920. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  12. ^ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Bruce Electoral District". Clutha Leader. Vol. XXVI, no. 1355. 5 December 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  14. ^ "The Bruce Election". Manawatu Herald. 7 May 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  15. ^ "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. 6 August 1885.
  17. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. 13 July 1883.
  18. ^ "Election for Bruce". Bruce Herald. Vol. VI, no. 353. 1 February 1871. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. No. 1127. 1 August 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2017 – via Papers Past.
  20. ^ "Bruce Election". Bruce Herald. Vol. III, no. 53. 13 April 1865. Retrieved 17 January 2017 – via Papers Past.
  21. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 698. 15 April 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Papers Past.
  22. ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. No. 1035. 14 April 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Papers Past.
  23. ^ "The Election for Bruce". Otago Daily Times. No. 204. 4 August 1862. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2015.

References

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  • McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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