1907 Taranaki by-election

The Taranaki by-election of 1907 was a by-election for the electorate of Taranaki held on 14 May 1907 during the 16th New Zealand Parliament.

1907 Taranaki by-election
14 May 1907
Turnout74.96%
 
Candidate Henry Okey Edward Dockrill William Malone
Party Conservative Liberal Independent Liberal
Popular vote 1,991 1,627 1,010
Percentage 43.02 35.16 21.82
Member before election

Edward Smith
Liberal

 Elected Member

Henry Okey
Conservative

Background

The contest was triggered due to the death of incumbent MP Edward Smith. Three candidates stood; Henry Okey was the Conservative candidate, Edward Dockrill was the Liberal government endorsed candidate and William Malone an Independent Liberal[1] Okey was the victor, resulting in the defeat of the Liberal Government's preferred candidate because of William Malone, a popular local "Independent Liberal" candidate splitting the government support vote. Because of the vote-splitting, the defeat of the Government candidate did not necessarily mean support for Opposition objection to the Land Bill then before Parliament.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1907 Taranaki by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Okey 1,991 43.02
Liberal Edward Dockrill[3] 1,627 35.16
Independent Liberal William Malone 1,010 21.82
Majority 364 7.87
Informal votes 23 0.50
Turnout 4,651 74.96
Registered electors 6,205

Okey held the seat until his own death in 1918 which triggered the 1918 by-election which was won by Edward Smith's son Sydney.[4] Okey was later to join the Reform Party upon its formation in February 1909. Malone was later notable during World War I, when he was killed in action leading his troops during the Gallipoli Campaign.

Notes
  1. "The Taranaki Seat". Feilding Star. I (265). 14 May 1907. p. 3. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. "Taranaki Election". The New Zealand Herald. XLIV (13488). 15 May 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  3. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1908). "Mr. Edward Dockrill". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. Wilson 1985, p. 235.
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References
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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