Bruce (or Tokomairiro) 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.
Overview
editIn 1865 the Bruce electorate included some suburbs of Dunedin, East Taieri, Inch Clutha, Lawrence, Pomahaka, Tokomairiro, Waihola, and Warepa.
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.[1] The Bruce electorate was a two-member constituency.[a][5]
Kettle died on 5 June 1862.[4]
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.[9]
Robert Gillies won the 1884 general election, but resigned on 30 June 1885.[10] 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.[9]
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.[9]
Members of Parliament
editAltogether, Bruce was represented by 16 Members of Parliament.[9]
Key:
Independent Conservative Reform Liberal
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 | |||
From 1866 to 1922, Bruce was a single-member electorate.
Geography
editHistory
editEstablishment
edit1860s
editCharles 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.[11]
The by-election was forced by the death of the incumbent, Charles Kettle. The election was won by Edward Cargill.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Edward Cargill | 74 | 57.81 | ||
| Independent | William Baldwin | 54 | 42.19 | ||
| Turnout | 128 | ||||
| Majority | 20 | ||||
The by-election was forced by the resignation of the incumbent, Thomas Gillies, over separation matters. It was won by Arthur John Burns.[13]
| 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 | ||||
The by-election was forced by the resignation of the incumbent, Edward Cargill. It was won by James Macandrew.[16]
| 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 | ||||
Bruce was transformed into a single-member electorate at the 7 March 1866 election and the electorate was won by John Cargill—who had contested the previous election—unopposed.[17][18]
1870s
editThe 1870 by-election had James Clark Brown as the only person nominated to replace John Cargill after his resignation.[19]
| 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 | ||||
1880s
edit| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
1890s
edit| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Allen | 1,966 | 55.10 | ||
| Liberal | Crawford Anderson[26] | 1,602 | 44.90 | ||
| Majority | 364 | 10.20 | |||
| Turnout | 3,568 | 76.48 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,665 | ||||
1900s
edit1910s onwards
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | James Allen | 2,993 | 51.08 | ||
| Liberal | John Edie | 2,867 | 48.92 | ||
| Majority | 126 | 2.15 | |||
| Informal votes | 71 | 1.20 | |||
| Registered electors | 7,395 | ||||
| Turnout | 5,931 | 80.20 | |||
| 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 | ||||
Dissolution
editSee also
edit- Tuapeka (New Zealand electorate) – A similar electorate to Bruce in Central Otago.
Notes
edit- ^ The New Zealand term of multi-member electorates is that they are electorates that have multiple representatives elected at the same time (except in the case of by-elections). Multi-member electorates in New Zealand had two or three members; the Bruce electorate never had more than two.[2][3][4]
References
edit- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 31–35.
- ^ Nigel S. Roberts (20 June 2012). "Page 1. Turning votes into seats". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. p. 1. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 34–36.
- ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 188.
- ^ McRobie 1989, pp. 34.
- ^ "The Nomination". Bruce Herald. Vol. II, no. 52. 6 April 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 698. 15 April 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 714. 5 August 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d Wilson 1985.
- ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
- ^ "Local Intelligence". Otago Witness. No. 481. 16 February 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b "The Election for Bruce". Otago Daily Times. No. 204. 4 August 1862. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Bruce Election". Bruce Herald. Vol. III, no. 53. 13 April 1865. Retrieved 17 January 2017 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Witness. No. 698. 15 April 1865. p. 11. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. No. 1035. 14 April 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Papers Past.
- ^ a b "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. No. 1127. 1 August 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2017 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "The Elections". Otago Daily Times. No. 1308. 8 March 1866. p. 4. Retrieved 24 December 2019 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. No. 1309. 9 March 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 24 December 2019 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "By Electric Telegraph". Otago Daily Times. No. 2535. 22 March 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 24 December 2019 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Election for Bruce". Bruce Herald. Vol. VI, no. 353. 1 February 1871. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. 13 July 1883.
- ^ "Bruce Election". Otago Daily Times. 6 August 1885.
- ^ "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ "The Bruce Election". Manawatu Herald. 7 May 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Bruce Electoral District". Clutha Leader. Vol. XXVI, no. 1355. 5 December 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
- ^ The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1920. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "The Bruce Election". The Southland Times. No. 18805. 26 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
Citations
edit- 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.
Category:Historical electorates of New Zealand Category:1860 establishments in New Zealand Category:1922 disestablishments in New Zealand Category:Politics of Otago